A Change for the Lost
by Neeko96
Summary: He watches over the town silently as the wounds of a prior mistake haunt him and the town as a whole. The empty streets serve little company, while the Light start to cook up a plan for the league and the citizens of Earth. The team moves to recruit a lost soul who may just want to be found more than he's letting on. Not a TUE fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I'm gonna call this a whim fic cause I really only wrote it cause I recently got into Young Justice. I ended up read 2 other fics while the rest didn't really peak my interest at all. With that situation in mind, I wrote this... I like it so I'm going with it. This fic occurs before any PP and a couple episodes into YJ Invasion. Update information will be listed at the bottom, enjoy.=^-^=**

**Disclaimer: I'll say this only once so don't expect anymore. I do not own Young Justice, Danny Phantom or any affiliated labels, characters or events.=^-^=**

**Ch. 1 - Lost**

* * *

An old man looked into a window to see a young boy sitting on a building's roof. The boy had snowy white hair, black and white suit, and his green eyes watched over the city below with an underlying sadness. The old man shook his head as his body shifted to that of a young man and he held his staff up. The window changed to show a mountain on a harbor. "This should do nicely."

"You requested something Clockwork?" The now child turned to see a man wearing blue with a golden helm and cape.

Clockwork was genuinely happy to see the man as he morphed into an old man. "Ah, Dr. Fate. It is good to see you."

The sorcerer nodded his head. "As am I to see you. I trust your time duties have not become too tedious?"

Clockwork gave a chuckle. "No, but they do have their moments, one of which is the reason I called you here." He lifted his staff and changed the screen to show a night city view. "See here, this boy." He pointed at the snowy haired boy now flying through the sky. "I'm sure he will prove useful in what's to come. Unfortunately, due to recent events he's a bit….. lost."

Dr. Fate looked on to the screen in curiosity. "And so, what do you ask of me?"

The time master was not surprised by the, straight to the point, attitude of the man. "You know I cannot reveal too much even to a lord of order." Nabu nodded in understanding. "I'm sure you've heard of that break in a few weeks ago at a tech corporation, DALVco.? Nightwing may have mentioned it in passing…. Or was it Batman?"

"Yes, it was Batman. He said the infiltrators were a pack of creatures."

"Ghosts." Clockwork corrected. "They were ghosts. This boy here is known as a halfa or half ghost. He currently holds the title of world's greatest ghost hunter, but like I said before, he's a bit lost. Due to an incident almost a year ago, he refuses to leave the city for anything even though there is nothing left here for him to do."

Dr. Fate raised a hand to his chin. "I see."

"I need you to give the suggestion of recruiting him to the team." He moved his staff again and it once again showed Mt. Justice.

Dr. Fate gave a curt nod and turned to Clockwork. "It is not often you request anything of me so I shall do what I can."

Clockwork nodded with a smirk. "That's all I can ask."

* * *

"And no unnecessary risks to the squad, that's an order." Spoke Nightwing to Robin just as he was about to leave with Gamma squad. Robin gave a curt nod before turning to join his team mates. Just as he was heading out, both Batman and Dr. Fate zeta tubed to the cave. "Batman?"

The dark knight approached in his standard stoic fashion with Nabu just behind him. "I believe I have a lead on that break in from a few months ago. The one where with those creatures you couldn't identify stole the scanner from Vladco.

Nightwing seemed genuinely surprised by the news as he raised a hand to his chin. "Really?"

Batman nodded and then gestured to Dr. Fate. "A friend of mine was able to shed some light on them. They were apparently ghosts."

Nightwing became immediately skeptical at the idea. "You're kidding right?" One look at the stoic expressions upon the two leaguers answered that. "You're not kidding… Okay, so what would ghosts want with a scanner?"

Batman approached the computer and started to type. "What it could scan for maybe, but right now, I have no clue. Dr. Fate also told me of someone who could help should they strike again and they could also prove to be a valuable new recruit." A picture of a teenage boy appeared on the screen.

"Danny Phantom? Never heard of him."

Batman continued typing and a window with text appeared. "That's because most people outside of Amity Park just think he's a comic book character. Most of the news from Amity Park usually involves ghosts even the news broadcasts so most of it gets filtered out due to the credibility of ghost attacks."

Nightwing crossed his arms. "Yeah, I can't blame them. I still think it sounds crazy."

"Here we go." Nightwing looked up towards the screen along with Batman and Dr. Fate. "This is footage from Amity Park when a ghost army invaded it. Considering their history, it holds no credibility but Dr. Fate assures me it's all real." The three of them watched as the streets of Amity Park were filled by walking skeletons brandishing archaic weapons of several kinds. People screamed and ran in random directions as the horde marched down the streets.

"Okay… I guess I'm getting the picture…."

He then brought up footage of the aforementioned boy blasting many of the skeletons to pieces. "He is there resident hero."

Nightwing took a good look at the data over the screen. "Some of this implicates him as a menace to the city, even kidnapping the mayor."

Batman gave a nod. "I plan to go over this very thoroughly, but Dr. Fate requests that you recruit him."

Nabu gave a nod. "This is actually a request from a friend of whom I have known for centuries. I do not take his requests lightly and he is not someone who would wish harm towards you or the team."

The young man nodded in understanding as he approached the key pad. "I'm going to be going over this a bit more before I make a decision."

"So will I." Agreed Batman as he turned to Dr. Fate.

"That is satisfactory then. I was only asked to recommend him after all." The sorcerer then turned and headed back to the zeta tube.

* * *

The two of them spent quite a bit of time going over the data, shifting through rumors and hype. Nightwing was going over a sort of timeline he found when Mel came into the room. "Gamma has encountered a huge base full of Kroloteans."

Nightwing hurried off after him into the ops room. Batman, however remained to look over the info. He found his eyes locked onto one specific part in particular involving an accident 10 months ago. Just as he finished reading it in silence Nightwing returned. "Gamma needs full back up, let's go." Without another thought, he and Nightwing quickly moved out to assist the team.

* * *

It was almost 2 days since their mission to Malina Island and Nightwing found himself a bit frustrated by it all. The league was taking serious damage public image. Then there was the whole Kroloteans thing, are they working with the light or are they just being used? They didn't seem to know about the bomb so it seemed more the latter. He was going through some more information on the computer when Robin got his attention. "Nightwing?" The teen turned to the boy wonder. "Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl have arrived."

Nightwing gave a nod. "Thanks." And then he saw the two of them come in.

The blonde was quick to stand front and center, eager for a mission. "You called?"

"Yeah hermano."

"Yes I did." He then turned back to the computer. "We're going on a recruitment mission."

Blue Beetle seemed a bit intrigued. "Who?... Yes it does."

Wonder Girl gave him a curious look before turning to the screen herself. "So who is it?"

A picture of a teenager with white hair appeared on screen. "His name is Danny Phantom."

Blue Beetle immediately started to laugh a bit. "We're recruiting a comic book character?"

He held his stomach a moment before looking up towards Dick's serious expression. "He's not a comic book character."

"Of course he is ese. I have most of the original issues."

Nightwing turned back to the screen. "Well they're based on a real hero from Amity Park and we're going to go recruit him." He turned to Wonder Girl. "I picked you because of our success last time and Blue Beetle just happened to be free." He turned and looked at the armor clad teen. "Maybe we'll be able to use your familiarity with him to get his attention."

* * *

The sky over Amity Park was dark. The nearly full moon seemed to do little quell the shadows below. A quite ripple flies through under the watchful gaze of the stars. "So, why take the bioship?" Asked Wonder girl as she looked at the city below.

"I wanted us to use a bit more stealth here and there are no zeta tubes close by. After the first few met with accidents we just stopped trying."

Blue Beatle crossed his arms. "So is this guy dangerous or something? I mean if he's anything like the comic book, we shouldn't have to worry at all….. No we wouldn't. No. We. Wouldn't. You didn't even read them!"

Nightwing cleared his throat a bit to get Blu's attention. "Anyway, recent information shows he's been hard to track lately. Not even the Amity Park local news has been able to get him on camera unlike the year before when he would appear almost everywhere."

"Wonder what changed." Wonder girl wondered aloud just before Nightwing stopped the ship rather suddenly.

"What's up hermano?"

Nightwing brought up a scan of the area. "I thought I saw something move." He seemed a bit confused. "We haven't even gotten to the location yet."

"Then let's keep going." Suggested Blu as he laid back a bit in his chair. The team continued on and was right around a quiet suburban neighborhood when the ship suddenly stopped once again only this time the passengers were a bit more shaken up. "What was that ese!?"

Nightwing quickly got himself together. "Not sure…. I'm not getting anything on the scanners, and the ship won't move."

"And I think I know why!" Shouted Wonder Girl as she pointed to a silhouette slowly forming in front of the ship. Nightwing was the next to make contact with the slightly angry pair of toxic green glowing eyes.

"What are you doing here! Who are you!?"

Blu got up from his seat and looked at the hostile teen in curiosity. "Can he actually see us?"

"He shouldn't be able to…. Hold on." Nightwing then started the ship on a reverse course, but the ghost boy wouldn't let that go. He flew up and started to push the ship down from above. The passengers were shaken a bit as the ship was slowly lowered to street level.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to try and stop him?" Asked the blue clad teen. He seemed a bit distraught as the ship shook upon hitting the ground.

"No…. I think we should play this a bit more carefully." With a simple movement of his hand the ship became visible. "Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, we're going to go out and greet him." The two of them traded wary glances before giving nods. Nightwing opened the back hatch and the ramp went down.

The ghostly teen was waiting for them just outside, still not all that happy at their intrusion. "Hmmm…? Almost thought I was going to having some of those alien problems."

Nightwing greeted him with the best smile he could muster as he outstretched his hand. "Hello Danny Phantom, I'm Nightwing, it's good to meet you."

Danny seemed a bit confused at first. He never expected these strangers to know his name. "You know me?" He gave a wary glance at the two behind him as well.

"Yes and this is Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl. We came here to talk to you."

Danny crossed his arms as he allowed his feet to touch the ground. "Really?... About what?" He then turned his gaze to the ship. "And why were you sneaking in like that?" He asked in an irritated tone as he pointed to the ship.

Nightwing remained calm though, knowing full well that what he does next may be the deciding factor. "We just didn't want to attract any attention."

Danny scoffed at them. "Well, you got mine. Make a note, camouflage doesn't mean invisible." Danny took another few minutes to look at the ship. He'd never seen anything like it before and so it intrigued him a bit. "Anyway, so what did you need to talk to me about?"

As Nightwing responded he noticed the boy seemed tense and on edge, almost as if he was waiting for something. "We wanted to recruit you for our team. A couple of the Justice Leaguers believe you would be a good addition to the team."

Danny raised a brow with advent curiosity. He's been so preoccupied lately he didn't give much thought to anything that went on outside the city let alone the Justice League since it had never actually come to Amity Park. "Join your team?" Nightwing saw the interest in his expression as the hostility seemed to fade. Unfortunately it was short lived as the boy's eyes became refocused and stern. "Sorry, but I can't. I can't leave the city…. Not again." The last part was mumbled as he turned his head away.

"You don't have to just leave."

"Yeah hermano, you can come back. We just wanted you to help us out when you can you know?"

Danny turned back to him with a curious expression but before he could speak a loud bark was heard from down the street. The four of them turned to see a large green dog running down the street. Only a few seconds later an explosion erupted from just behind the green specter destroying a few buildings in the process. "Cujo!" Danny immediately flew up and toward the ghost dog as he continued to run up the street for dear afterlife.

Just as Danny got close to him several figures emerged from the smoke. "We've got a visual on Phantom!" "Fire at will!" The armored soldiers marched through the smoke towards the irritated halfa. They fired several shots that Danny was able to dodge relatively easily as he took a spot to cover Cujo.

He placed up a barrier and glared at the soldiers. "Will you guys just leave me alone!?"

One soldier stepped forward and stopped firing. He lifted his hand to stop the others so he could talk. "We have told you before, we cannot allow any specter to roam free. You especially, Phantom." Danny could practically see the man smirking through his helmet. "And now we will be rid of you." He lowered his hand again and the other soldiers began firing again.

Danny was surprised when Nightwing ran to his side in a fighting stance. "What's going on with these guys?"

"They don't seem to like you huh?" Wonder girl stated as she used her arm bands to reflect away any stray shots towards her. Blue Beetle was bringing up the rear and dodging any fire towards him.

Danny gave a sigh as he took a moment to explain while keeping both hands up for his shield. "They're the GIW, the secret government agency dedicated to riding the world of ghosts. They are not fans of mine….."

"Noted ese."

Danny took a moment to think. "Of course the fact that I show them up whenever they come to town doesn't help…. In all honesty, they suck at their job." Danny then noticed the men part and two holding a large cannon came forward.

"That….. doesn't look good."

"Nope." The halfa responded as he watched the weapon charge up. The four of them scattered with Danny pulling poor Cujo out of the way. The dog seemed to be sorting an injured paw.

"Attention heroes! If you continue to aid the ghost you will be considered as interfering with federal agents! Clear away now!"

Nightwing glared at them a bit as he raised his eskrima sticks. "What kind of federal agents fire in civilian neighborhood.!?" The soldier holding the bullhorn didn't respond before the others began shooting again. The team leader turned to Danny. "If you come with us, we can get you out of here. We can talk about the details once we're not being fired on.

"Yeah, I don't think these guys are going to let up… no way! What's with you and violence?!"

Danny fired off a few ecto-blasts to get the Soldiers off their feet. "I told you before, I can't leave."

Blu unleash a sonic blast on the men which was able to stop the fire for a brief moment. "Well do you want to get blasted to bits?"

Danny rolled his eyes at the bug themed hero. "These guys pull stunts like this all the time. As a matter of fact, I was expecting this just before you guys showed up in that weird ship of yours. This whole area is abandoned and it's been that way for months now. That's why I hang around here, because when they attack, they don't really think about the people around them."

Wonder Girl took a look at the eerily quiet streets. "Is that why there aren't any lights on in the houses?" D

anny flew up toward the men as they sprawled to get themselves together. He lit his hands up in a blue energy and began to freeze all of their weapons into ice blocks. "Curse you Phantom!" The lead operative shouted as he motioned for a retreat. They didn't have much of an option since their weapons were all down. The other three teen made their way over with intrigue.

"Why is this place abandoned? It doesn't look that old." Noted Wonder Girl.

Danny turned to face the rubble of the buildings that were destroyed. "That's because ground zero is 3 miles that way. No one wants to live anywhere near that place."

Nightwing raised a hand to his chin. "I think I do remember something happening…. I read it earlier. Some major accident about ten months ago right?"

Danny gave a sad nod. "Yeah…" When he turned his gaze back to the group, his eyes widened and he dove for Wonder Girl. "Get down!" Before anyone knew what happened Cassie was one the ground with Danny laying limply on top of her. His suit had a burn mark on his upper back and the halfa could be heard groaning slightly.

"What the…?!" Nightwing looked up to see two of those agents standing on a nearby roof with one of those cannons. One of them motioned for more to come and he glared at the sight. He looked back down at Danny as Wonder Girl sat up and rolled him over in her lap.

"I don't think he's conscious anymore….." Before anymore could be said a white ring appeared around the boys midsection and it spread across his body. Before long black hair turned white, a jumpsuit became tattered street clothes and the otherworldly glow faded to reveal a tired teen.

"Wow ese….. what was that?"

"I have no idea…" Commented Wonder Girl in complete shock.

Nightwing looked at the boy in curiousity but was knocked out of his thoughts as he heard the hard clatter of boots in the short distance. He didn't have much time to think about all that had happened but he knew two things, this boy save one of his team and he didn't deserve whatever awaited him should they leave him behind. "Grab him and let's go Wonder Girl." He then stood and made a bee line for the bio-ship with Blue Beetle. Wonder girl flew behind with the dark haired teen in her arms as requested. As soon as she flew off with Danny Cujo got up and followed, not wanting to be left behind.

* * *

**Okay, that's chapter 1. More chapters will be longer at least a little bit and I'm sorry if you didn't like it. I am also not going for angsty Danny at all so if that's what you want, I suggest looking at another story. For those of you who are curious, I plan to hold cannon pairings for the most part but cross overs are made for fun pairings too. **

**As for my update frequency, I update on priority. Priority rises based on reviews. Now before anyone says I'm just a review grabber, what I'm actually looking for is an insightful response showing you actually read into this or if you liked it or not. Questions can also be directed in those too. My story priority will be posted on my profile page if you want to see where this one stands though its currently at the bottom of the list.**

**Thx again for reading and I hope you will leave a review of what you thought about it.=^-^=**


	2. Chapter 2 - Problems

**Okay, so I did get a decent respose so that's why ya'll get chapter number 2. Aside from that, this story rank 4 on my priority list so it may be awhile before I update again, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Also, Super Boy appears in this chapter and so I want to warn you THIS IS NOT SLASH! I'm using the 'clone with anger management issues' part of him in this chap but he'll be better later. Besides, he's justified in how he acts so just enjoy the right. I actually like Super Boy quite alot. He's my third favorite. Anyway, enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 2 - Problems**

* * *

Nightwing entered the living room area of the base to see both Jaime and Wonder Girl sitting on the couch talking with Beast Boy. "So he's a ghost?"

Jaime raised a hand to his chin. "That's what I thought but its realmente extrano. It's like he turned into another person. I mean I've heard of costume changes but this one was out there."

Beast Boy scratched his head. "Sounds cool I guess."

Cassie gave a nod and then noticed Nightwing. "Well? How is he?"

Dick placed one hand on his side as he explained. "He appears to be fine. Black Canary is looking him over and Batman should be here any moment."

Beast Boy stood up. "So we have a ghost on the team now?"

Nightwing gave a hesitant nod. "Sort of….. I'm not too sure if he's a ghost or a meta-human with ghost abilities. Back inside the medical bay he was giving off every reading of an average human give or take some stress levels. Also, he hasn't agreed to join yet."

"Can I meet him?" Asked the excited shape-shifter.

"Later, he's still unconscious for the moment. Once we've had a chance to talk to him, then I'm sure you could say hi."

Wonder Girl noticed he seemed to be looking for something and questioned him. "What's wrong?"

"Have either of you seen that dog? I didn't think I could lose track of something that big."

"Come to think of it, didn't the dog just disappear when we got back?" Wonder Girl then turned to Jaime who just shrugged. "Got me ese."

Nightwing then turned to the sound of a zeta tube and Batman stepped out with Dr. Fate just behind. "Where is he?"

Asked the Dark Knight as he headed over to his protégé. Nightwing started to lead them both away. "In the medical bay. He seems to be fine for the moment."

* * *

The first sensation he felt was a throbbing. It started around his back and rippled through his body. The next thing was an itchy sensation. It was like wearing wool in the summer. The still boy on the bed then began to stir. Slight twitches turned to strained movements as his right arm rose to his head. His eyes fluttered open a bit but remained mostly closed due to the bright light of the table next to him. "Where….?" He muttered to himself. His eyes began to clear and he then saw a woman in the room with him.

The minute this registered in his mind he tensed up and then took to surveying the room a bit. He understood that this was some sort of medical room. If it had been some sort of lab, like he initially feared, he wouldn't be allowed to move. The blonde at the monitor seemed preoccupied enough that Danny decided to take his opportunity. There's no way I'm sticking around this weird place. He thought as he made himself invisible and climbed off the bed. His next thought was escape as he quickly phased through the nearest wall.

Once outside in the deserted hallway he relaxed enough to notice the black bangs matting his forehead. He pulled a few of them in front of his eyes to get a better look. "Great…. I must've morphed back when I blacked out. Just great…" He then found himself crouching after a sharp pain erupted from his back. "Damn…." He cursed as he pulled himself back up. "Whatever those idiots hit me with must've been something." His eyes then widened as he thought about the GIW. Did they capture me?! No….. they're not stupid enough to not restrain me first thing, so where? "Guess I'll take a look around."

He looked down both ways of the hall before morphing on the spot to his ghostly alter ego. He floated up off the floor and slowly made his way down one side. He kept his ears sharp for any indications of someone headed his way and stopped just short of the hall's end. This was a wide open room with what looked to be a pool of water on the other side. He couldn't really put his finger on what this room could be for aside from some sort of secret subterranean hanger but that would be weird. He then noticed a large round object rolling out from another hall and instantly put on his invisibility. "Slow down Sphere!" A young man came walking just behind it and a wolf behind him.

"It's huge!... Not like I should be freaked now that I think about it." The boy jerked his head in the halfa's direction immediately along with the wolf. Note to self, dogs have good hearing….. and apparently so does that guy. The boy then began his approach with a growling wolf behind him causing Danny to try to retreat back into the hall. The monster white wolf wouldn't hear of it and although it may not have heard where he was, he could certainly smell him.

Danny found himself invisibly pinned to the ground in seconds where he squirmed for a bit under the canine's scrutinizing nose. When he started baring his fangs, that's when Danny decided to counter attack and kicked the dog off him by his belly. "What the?" Commented a surprised Super Boy. Wolf attacking air was weird enough but getting thrown off by it? There was definitely something there. He reached through the seemingly empty space and was surprised when he grabbed what felt to be fabric. He gripped it tight and proceeded to strong arm it across the hanger. He stopped when he hit the wall with the invisible intruder being pinned in place. When he heard a groan his anger felt justified. "Who are you!? What are you doing here?!"

Danny reluctantly dropped his invisibility to show Super Boy had him by his collar. "As if I even want to be here!?" Super Boy was caught by surprise by the boy's sudden appearance and released his grip almost instinctively. Danny took his chance and flew back over to the hall where he was blocked by the large wolf from before. "Aww, come on!" He griped as he prepared for the wolf to charge again, but before the wolf even leaped from the ground a loud bark was heard and the white canine found himself knocked through the air.

The snarling green dog didn't give him much chance to recover as the dog pinned the wolf to the ground. The scene looked a big one sided considering Cujo was around three times the wolf's size but the wolf was surprisingly strong and fought back with more strength than what was thought possible. Super Boy instantly ran to his pal's rescue and charged the dog only to pass harmlessly through him. "What….?" He asked in a bewildered tone. He turned to see the growling match between the two and it seems as though the large dog hadn't even noticed him.

After a few more flailing paws hit the air, Cujo was able to scoop the wolf up into his mouth and shake him around. Super Boy then jumped at him again only to feel the same sensation as before only this time it only mad him madder as he turned to the ghostly teen. "Is this your doing!?" Before Danny could even answer he was charged by the Kryptonian.

* * *

"I had Black Canary watch him until you got here." Nightwing explained as the three of them entered the medical bay. He turned to see The mentioned blond tapping away at the monitor.

"Where is he?" Asked Batman as both he and Dr. Fate looked over the room.

Nightwing turned with a confused expression. "I put him on….." He stopped cold once he noticed the empty beds and then turned to Black Canary. "Black Canary, where did he go?"

She turned and raised an eyebrow. "What are you….." She too seemed confused by the empty beds. "That's strange… No one has entered or left since you left before."

Dr. Fate turned back to the door. "Since he does bare the powers of a ghost, he most likely walked through the wall instead of using the door."

Nightwing instantly face palmed. "Damn it….. I should have thought of that."

Batman made his way to the door with Nabu. "He shouldn't be too far away. Let's go."

Just as the three of them left the medical bay the base seemed to shake causing them all to freeze. "What was that?"

"Sounds like its coming from the hanger let's go!" The Dark Knight shouted as he dashed off in the direction of said hanger with the other two behind him. When the trio arrived they noticed four more on lookers standing just inside the doorway. "What's going on!?" Demanded Batman as he arrived first.

Jaime, who was on the far left spoke up. "Looks like Phantom and Super Boy are going at it ese." Wonder Girl seemed equally interested as she watched the spectacle. While Robin watched with a disapproving expression.

Beast Boy seemed to be really enjoying himself. "Go Super Boy!" Batman, seeing no one else trying, decided to end the fight himself and stepped forwards just in time for another charge by Conner.

"Alright that's enough!" Yelled the ghost teen as he caught Super Boy by his shirt and threw him into the opposite wall. Conner fell to the ground and left a webbed crack in his wake. He watched the kryptonian for a moment before turning his gaze to the on lookers. "You!?" He flew up and over. "You brought me here!" Danny waved an accusing finger at Nightwing as he spoke. "Where am I and why did you bring me here!?"

The young man responded by raising his hands in a defensive yet calm manner. "It wasn't my intention to upset you by bringing you here, I just didn't think it would be fair to just leave you."

"Especially after you took that hit for me." Wonder Girl added while giving an approving nod to Nightwing.

"Yeah hermano, who knows what those guys would have done."

Danny's anger faded a bit and he allowed his feet the touch the floor. After a short self-evaluation he raised his eyes back to Nightwing. "Then I guess…. I should thank you." He rubbed the back of his neck as he said that. A groan was next heard from behind the group as Super Boy started to get up. Danny peeked behind to the guy he had just tossed around. "Oh….. and sorry about him too, but he kinda charged at me…."

Connor glared at him in agitation as he approached once again only calmer. "Just who are you?!"

Nightwing was the one to answer. "This is Danny, we brought him here so that we could talk about him joining the team."

Super Boy didn't seem too happy about that at all as he crossed his arms. "I caught him sneaking around and you want to let him join?!"

Danny raised a hand with an angry expression of his own. "In my own defense, I had no idea where I was… I still don't actually know now that I think about it."

Connor then glared back at the two dogs to see Cujo trying to keep wolf pinned down and having a real tough time of it. "You attacked wolf!"

Danny crossed his arms. "I don't know what you would do if a huge wolf jumped you but I fight back." Danny then floated over to the two canines. "Down Cujo!" The green bull dog quickly complied as it jumped off and sat at the heels of its master. "And for the record, I didn't tell Cujo to attack him, he did that on his own." Wolf rolled over and stood as he watched the ghost boy warily. He slowly made his way over to Connor while still glaring at the two of them.

Connor, finding he had nothing else to really complain about just turned away towards Nightwing who was now making his way over to Danny with Batman and Dr. Fate. "Do you think we could just talk?"

"I have a few questions for you." Batman added in with his typical poker face.

"Rest assured, if you choose not to join, we will take you back to Amity Park."

Danny took a moment to think it over before giving an approving nod. "Fine, but you better take me back." He warned as he walked past the three of them.

* * *

The four of them were now in the ops center where Batman was typing away at the computer interface while Nightwing was busy trying to get through to Danny. "Now I'm not trying to force you into anything, I just want you to give it some good thought. We could really use the help."

Danny shook his head. "I told you, I can't afford to just leave. I should have just bolted back there…. Had I any clue exactly where we were." He looked around in an agitated fashion.

Nightwing raised a brow at his reason. He remembered that being his reason before but it's not like the town's going to disappear in the next few hours. "What has you so worried? It's like you think Amity Park won't be there when you get back." That hit a sore spot for Danny as he refused to make eye contact. Dick noticed his body language seemed to shift to that of guilt.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the incident 10 months ago." Batman deducted as he continued his search. "A massacre that took the lives of over 200 citizens."

Nightwing's eyes widened when he noticed Danny's fists tighten at his side. He then turned to the screen with surprise in his eyes. "How come that didn't come up in our last search?"

Batman pulled up an article. "Probably because the GIW were trying to cover the whole thing up. They've called for martial law in Amity Park though the mayor refuses to cooperate."

"Who would?" Danny remarked with venom in his voice. "It's not like they've done anything useful." He then started listing off reasons with his fingers. "They're never there when you need them, they screw up way too often, not to mention they have a complete lack of common sense on the subject they are supposed to be experts at. It's like they learned about ghosts from some paranoid shut in. They only thing they really have going for them is their equipment." He finished as he crossed his arms. "So I hope it's not a surprise that I don't trust them especially considering how often their 'job' ends in me being shot at, blasted out of the sky and sometimes strapped to a lab table." He added air quotes in as he spoke.

The two vigilantes traded glances as they took in the boy's agitated rant. Danny, realizing that he just went off on them, took a breath and apologized. "Uh… sorry-"

"No apologies necessary Daniel." Danny seemed to cringe slightly at the name as Dr. Fate placed a hand on his shoulder. "My old friend tells me all about these things, you see, and that you should be here, not there."

Danny looked at him as if was completely crazy and so Nabu decided to give the boy a hint. He raised a finger and started to form golden letters the first being C and the second being W. It only took a moment for Danny to make the connection and it only made the boy angry. His hand glowed green and he swiped the letters out of the air. "You can tell him to go jump off a bridge!" And with that, Danny took off and phased right through the ceiling without another word. Dr. Fate seemed a bit confused at the outburst but understood the boy was angry.

Nightwing looked at the sorcerer and raised a hand to his chin. "Who is CW?"

Nabu shook his head. "He does not like for many to know of him. If you are meant to know, he will come to you." And with that mysterious description the lord of order departed towards the zeta tubes.

"Best to just drop it." Suggested Batman and as he rubbed his chin in thought over what he was reading.

Nightwing shrugged. "I guess that was a bust."

"Maybe not." Batman then zoomed in on one of the text boxes. "I just did a high end search on the GIW and found one of their most recent sponsors. Looks like Lex is up to something."

"Like what? The only major corporation there is Axiom labs and that's owned by DALVco. What could he possibly need in Amity Park." Asked Nightwing in a very serious tone. If Luthor wanted it, it can't be good.

Batman then pressed a key and turned to his protégé. "Looks like it's time to send a team to find out."

* * *

**And there it is. Danny's still a bit miffed for reasons you have probably figured for yourselves and Batman is being... batman... Anyway, now you have a bit more to go on as for the 'incident' And more is still to be revealed! Hope ya'll are still interested to find out. Please direct any questions you have to me through a reveiw and feel free to give me some feed back. I know I may not be the best at portraying these characters but I'm trying my best!**

**Also, I was wondering if I should Pair Danny with anyone. I don't plan to mess with AxKF or SBxMM so don't ask, but if you think there's someone else. One of my friends said I should ship him with Wonder Girl. Anyway, so I'll be looking for that feedback and thank you for reading, you are all so wonderful!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Infiltration

**Okay, so it took me longer than I'd hoped but I'm making each chapter a bit longer now so theirs the extra time. I also put in some dates and locations. Not all the time but where I think clarification might be needed. Anyway, I hope its to ya'lls liking.**

**Also, I don't like an angsty Danny, regardless of his situation, so there won't be alot of that. Sorry but as the writer that's the decision I've made. He'll have a bit in the begging but not much and you'll see that in this chapter too. Sorry but its not my cup of tea.=^-^=**

**Also a quick shout out to Guest Speaker who pointed out a huge plot flaw which I fixed immediatly. Thank you very much for pointing that out friend.=^-^=**

**Enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 3 - Infiltration**

* * *

Jan 8 - Mt. Justice

"Where the heck is this place?" Danny asked himself as he flew over the coastal town. A few minutes was all he needed to find the sign reading Happy Harbor Rhode Island. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Great…. I'm around 5 states away…. Perfect." He turned his head back towards the mountain side. "Looks like I either go back and ask for a ride, or I fly home myself…." He then shrugged as he flew off in the aforementioned direction. "I need to grab Cujo anyway right?" He knew he could just whistle for him, but he also didn't want to have to fly all the way back to Amity Park.

* * *

"So that's what we need to find out. Alpha squad is Miss Martian and Beast Boy. Beta is going to be Robin and Blue Beetle." Nightwing zoomed in on a picture of a large building on the monitor. "Alpha squad is going to infiltrate this building. Its run by a secret branch of the government known as the GIW."

Beast Boy gave their leader a look. "GIW? What's that?"

"They're a crazy ghost hunting organization ese." Blue Beetle explained.

"Government owned and operated believe it or not." Nightwing added in. "Anyway, we need to find out what Lex Luthor wants from them. He's recently become one of their sponsors." He then clicked onto another image of a legal building. "Batman also needs us to check out the Mayor. Rumor has it he's being pressured to step down so that the GIW can issue Martial law in the city. I need Beta squad to try and sus out what Mayor Masters knows about the deal. Vlad Masters has never been one dwell on a lost cause so it may be important." Then with one button he turned the screen off. "Wonder Girl and Lagoon Boy will be back up in case something happens." The Atlantian let out a lite grumble at that but little else.

"Then I guess we're all set."

Nightwing nodded to the Martian but gave one more word of advice. "Yeah but be careful. I've been told they have a certain disregard for collateral damage so keep on guard for yourselves and for any civilians."

"Of course." She responded as she led the other five team members towards the hanger. Unknown to the team, an invisible spectator was watching over their briefing. Danny took this pristine opportunity and followed the team knowing full well they were his ticket back home without having to deal with asking. Holding the small dog in his hands, he was sure to keep him under control.

* * *

Jan 8 – Amity Park

After dropping off Beta team, Alpha and Gamma continued on towards the infiltration target. Miss Martian was sure to keep the ship cloaked as both she and Beast Boy departed leaving Wonder Girl and Lagoon Boy to watch the Bio-ship. "Neptune's Beard!" The young Atlantian grumbled as the hatch closed behind Alpha squad.

Beast Boy transformed into a small bird as he followed Miss Martian towards a vent. "Keep small alright?" He gave a lite squawk in response and dove through the now open vent. Miss Martian simply shifted her density so that she could pass through the roof. Upon arriving in a white hall of the building the Martian looked up to see a small lizard crawling along the wall.

She, while cloaked, floated along the hall until she can across a T intersection. She mentally thought over the layout of the building before she mentally told Beast Boy which way to go. "_It's left. We should come up to a room at the end of the hall with an interface for the mainframe."_ She then continued to float down the hall pausing only when two agents came by. It was obvious to her they were a security detail. Upon reaching the end of the hall she phased through the door and then cracked it open from the inside for Beast Boy once she found the room empty.

"_This is way easy right?"_ Beast Boy thought to his adopted sister.

_"Careful Beast Boy, things can always go wrong."_ She warned as she began working with the computer. After several failed attempts to simply access the console She was beginning to think this computer was just a dummy to trick those who would break in. The only thing available on the screen was a password box and any form of bypass seemed useless.

Beast Boy scratched his head as he watched her frustration build, but as he looked around for a possible way to help he noticed a small plastic rectangle on the floor. Upon further inspection he found it to have a swipe strip on the back and deduced it as being some sort of card key. An idea soon followed his realization as he quickly jumped up to the computer console and found the card reader in the back. "_Try this M'gann."_

The minute he swiped the card the menu came up and she gave the changeling a smile. "_Where did you get that?" _

He pointed to the other side of the room. "_Just found it on the floor over there. Some guard must've dropped it."_ M'gann raised a brow at that. She was obviously a bit suspicious all things considered, but she wasn't about to rush off on a might, when she finally had the information she needed in reach. Her job went smoothly after that, nothing stopping her from finding exactly what she needed. "_So, any bets on what Lex wants from these nut jobs?"_

She quickly scanned down a page before responding. "_Who knows….. whoa….. didn't even think of that." _

_"What is it?"_

She pointed to map at the bottom of the page. "_Apparently this whole martial law mess is just a cover so that they can get something from here."_

_ "Fenton Works?"_ Beast Boy read of the screen in his mind. "_What could they want there?"_

_ "I don't know."_ She thought back, "_But it has to be something big if they were going through all this trouble to get."_

_ "You'd think stealing it would be easier. Sounds more like Lex to me."_

She gave a nod of agreement before she placed in the storage drive and started to copy the files. "_They are after some invention owned by the company but the information is encrypted. Hopefully Nightwing can get it figured out."_ After a few minutes the transfer was complete and she took it out of the consol. "Let's go."

"And just where do you think you are going?" The two turned around to see several white suited agents blocking their path holding blasters too big to shake a stick at.

* * *

Back with Beta Squad Robin and Blue Beetle find slipping into city hall a bit easy as they skulked down the halls. "No security?" "Got me ese." The armored teen then frowned and shook his head for seemingly no reason. Robin in the lead, they both quickly found their ways to the Mayor's office. "Wait….. would the mayor even be here? It's almost 7p.m."

Robin gave a nod as he moved to open the door. "According to Nightwing he is." He then motioned to his lips to be silent as he pushed the door open. It made not even a sound but that didn't seem to help them at all.

"Now I wonder who my new guests are?" They hear a man say from inside of the room. They both froze up in shock but Robin recovered quickly and got Blue Beetle out of it. He stood up straight and entered the room with his teammate just behind. They were quick to meet eyes with a white haired, middle-aged man in a suit. He leaned back in his chair with a confident expression. He raised a brow as he got a better look at the teens. "Hmm? Heroes I presume? I can't imagine you being anything else in those outfits." He then leaned forward and pressed his fingers together over his desk. "To whom do I owe the pleasure."

Robin gave a side glance to his teammate before answering. "We just wanted to ask what you knew about the GIW and why they were trying to lock the town down. We understand that something big happened, but this response is more than overkill."

Vlad gave a short laugh as he turned and leaned on his arm. "True, but I never expected the Bat to take much interest. Let's face it, Amity Park isn't some big city like Gotham." He then gave the boy's a stern look. "And quite frankly, I don't believe this is any of your business. Now could you be good boys and leave my office? I'd elect to call security but I doubt it would do much good."

"Just hold on, maybe we can help each other?" Robin proposed. "The GIW are trying to get you to step down right?"

Vlad raised a brow but waved it off. "I know what you're getting at and believe me when I say, I'll be happy to get out of this backwater city."

His mood seemed to shift closer to anger as he said that which was easily picked up by the boy wonder. "So…. What are you still doing here? You own several major corporations, have mansions and even a private island. Why stay here? You're the only one between the GIW and Amity Park."

The man wasn't surprised by the question. Even the agent S, Chief of the GIW noticed the strange behavior. He turned from the boys before answering. "It's just something that has to be done. Hopefully by the time they force me down, that knuckle head would've moved on. Now if you wouldn't mind?" He almost spat as he turned back around. "I would like to get back to my paperwork. Please, do yourselves a favor, and don't get curious on your way out. I can assure you, there isn't any viable information in this building. Your friends on the other hand," He started with a chuckle. "They might need a hand with whatever they dug up."

"Beta squad! You're gonna want to get over here. We've got trouble." The message rang out as if Vlad had cued it himself. The two boys left after one quick glance at the mayor who smirked in response.

Just as the doors closed a voice came from behind. "Pompous as ever."

Vlad turned to meet a green steely gaze. "Ah, Daniel, how have you been hmm? I thought the GIW had caught you or something."

Danny scoffed at the man. "As if those morons could hold me." He then moved his gaze to the doors. "Ya'know, those two had a point, just what is holding you here? My mom's long gone pal, or are you that delusional?"

Vlad rolled his eyes in slight agitation. "Ah, your teen wit astounds me. Come Daniel, you must know you're just being stubborn at this point."

Danny was the one to roll his eyes this time. "This again, huh? Look Vlad I don't-"

"Daniel!" The millionaire practically shouted. "You need to wizen up! Stop being stubborn! You need to leave!"

Danny glared at the man. "No! I protect this town! If I leave-"

"What?! It'll be wiped off the map!? All the people will suddenly be gone? Even if that did happen, how would it be your fault! Powers or not, you have limits!" Danny couldn't find it in him to respond as he turned his gaze away. Vlad saw he may have pushed a bit and sighed. "Look Daniel, what happened wasn't your fault. Things happen."

"But I wasn't ….. there. Had I only been here protecting everyone then….."

Vlad shook his head. "Then what? You would have magically had the strength to fight them back? Those things were a natural disaster, they would have picked you apart." He placed a hand on his own shoulder. "Take it from someone who knows."

Danny shook his head. "No, I have to protect them. I can't let it happen again."

Vlad turned away. "So what? You're going to hover around here for the rest of your life having turf wars with the GIW?" Danny remained silent and Vlad turned back to him. "You need to move on."

Danny's agitation was obvious as he grumbled out a response. "That's the last thing I need to hear from the guy who stalked my Mom for 20 years."

Vlad was starting to lose his patience as he sat back down in his chair. This conversation wasn't knew. He had tried talking to the boy on several occasions. He heaved out a sigh as he raised a pen to the papers he was to sign. "Look Daniel, I can't make you do anything; you've more than proven that over the years, but I can still give you some advice. As the man who refused to move on, I'm telling you it's the worst mistake of my life. Regardless of how it may have looked on the outside, I loved your mother." He heard Danny laugh from behind. "It's only now that I see how foolish I was for not seeing it as a lost cause, but I do have one last way to make it up to her, and that's you boy."

Danny seemed confused a moment before his eyes widened. "Wait…. Me? That's why you won't step down?" He brushed his fingers through his bangs. "Have I told you that you're a frootloop?"

The man let out another frustrated sigh. "Make your jokes Daniel but you have to face reality. The GIW are getting smarter and I can't hold them off forever." When he didn't hear a response he turned to see Danny had vanished. "Hmm? Well…. Hopefully that did it. I can only explain so many times before broken record starts getting painful." He then looked down at the paper on his desk. It had large red lettering at the top that read "Notice of Dismissal" and let out another sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "You win this one Lex, but now it's my move."

* * *

Beast Boy busted through three agents who were blocking his way as he ran through the hall. "This one too!?" "_This way Beast Boy!"_ He turned to his left to see Miss Martian opening a door. The boy transformed and flew over as fast as he could.

"_These guys pined us down pretty quick huh?"_

_ "Yeah. I'm pretty sure that console had some sort of silent alarm in it." _They both flew down a stair case and busted through the door only to be met with two more agents. They both aimed their blasters and Beast Boy was barely able to stop himself from ramming right through them. "Gar!"

Before either of them fired the man on the left suddenly blindsided his partner with the blaster and knocked him out. He turned to the two intruders. "Follow me." He then turned on his heel and took off running stopping just short of a T intersection. When he looked to see them not moving he waved them over. "Come on already, do you want to get strapped to a lab table?" Miss Martian didn't trust him of course but Garfield hopped to it.

"What's going on?" She demanded as she followed her adopted brother towards the stranger.

The man peeked down the hall before responding. "I'm trying to get you out of here….. that is what you were trying to do right?"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy responded in an excited tone. "But why are you helping us, aren't you on their payroll?"

The man gave a laugh. "Appearances can be deceiving kid." He gave pause for a moment before dashing down the hall to the right. "We shouldn't be far from the main entrance."

"But they have to have this whole place completely locked down by now." Garfield stated as he followed in the rear.

"Yeah, but once we get to the front of the building I can get us out of here easy. It's the only part of the building that doesn't have shielded walls." They all dashed down the corridor soon enough they all saw what looked to be a color boarder on the walls. "See?" As soon as the man made it to the unprotected section the wine of blasters was heard. He froze a moment like a deer in the headlights with Beast Boy and Miss Martian at his back. "Uh-oh."

Two men stepped forward from the group of readied men, one white, one African American, both being bald. "Alright, that's the end of the line for all three of you. Hands where I can see'em." The three of them complied while all wearing unpleased expressions.

The man then whispered to his left, trying hard not to be obvious. "Hey kid…. Can you turn into a British Bulldog?"

"Quiet!" The Caucasian man yelled. He then stepped up with a smirk and raised a blaster to the face of the rouge agent. "No funny business Phantom."

The man smirked a bit. "So you really would shoot your own guy huh?"

Agent O glared at him. "He knew what he signed up for."

The man then let out a sigh. "Typical." Only a second later did the man seemingly flop to the ground to show Danny standing in his place, still with his arms raised. "You guys are always so trigger happy." Most of the men directed their guns at Danny now, considering him their biggest threat. Danny then gave a side glance to the boy who seemed rather surprised at the revelation.

One slight movement of his head and Garfield seemed to get the idea. He easily noticed the lack of weapons pointing in his direction. "_He wants me to transform. I think we should listen to him."_

M'gann wasn't completely against it. She was told about him, but at the same time she didn't complete trust him either. After a short moment to think it over she gave him the OK. "_Alright, I'll cover you. Beta and Gamma should be on their way."_

On that note Beast Boy morphed into the British Bulldog that Danny had requested and got quite a response from the men as he did. "It's the ghost mutt! Foamers at the ready!" Beast Boy leaped at one of the men and was soon covered in a green foam. Miss Martian then saw fit to destroy each of the weapons in succession. Danny was quick to snap into action by knocking agent O to the side and blasting at a few of the armored agents. Once the last foamer was taken out Beast Boy jumped out of the goo and shook it off much to the surprise of the agents. "The foam had no effect!"

Danny threw one of the agents towards the two still baffled by the sight. "Sorry but that's the wrong dog!"

"Reinforcements to the main hall!"

"Aw crud…" Danny wined as he quickly got a bead on the green teen. "Come on BB, we need to split!" He flew over and grabbed the boy, quickly flying him through the wall, much to Garfield's surprise. Miss Martian threw a few more aside before following suit and phasing through the wall. Once outside, however, it was like jumping from the frying pan to the fire. "I guess they are getting smarter…." Danny commented as he saw the small army that greeted him inside the fence boarders of the compound.

"Gamma squad ready for action!" Lagoon Boy fell out of the sky with Wonder Girl at his back to give their struggling teammates a hand.

Danny set Beast Boy down. "Friends of yours?" He recognized the blonde girl but the fish man….. not so much.

Miss Martian was quick to take the reins. "Alright, we just need to get out of the perimeter, we already have what we need."

"No problem Angelfish." Lagoon Boy responded as he punched his own fist. His muscles suddenly grew large and he charged the forces head on. Beast Boy followed his example in the form of a Rhino. Wonder Girl tried to take the high ground but quickly found herself surrounded by helicopters and large weapons pointed at her.

"Surrender! This will be your only warning!"

M'gann quickly backed up her teammate by bashing several of the copters together. "Sorry but try again." Agent K finally scrambled out of the building to see the teens tearing right through his men and growled in rage. He wiped out some sort of device and typed in a code. Large spikes poked up from the ground shocking all on the ground aside from the suited GIW troops.

While L'gann was stunned one of the men threw a capsule which formed a sticky adhesive pile at the atlantian's feat. Upon realizing he was stuck he shrunk down and tried with all his might to get free. "Neptune's beard!" Beast Boy was next as a constricting net was placed over him. He received a jolt from it every time he tried to move.

As soon as M'gann saw Beast Boy go down, she tried to rush to him but the GIW were keeping both her and Wonder girl busy with a constant barrage of fire. "Gar!"

"No worries ese!" "Were here to assist!" Both Blue Beetle and Robin jump into the action ready to kick some tail.

Danny let out a chuckle as he threw another agent. "More backup. That's kinda nice." Agent K saw them jump in as well despite his concentration being on Phantom and so he decided to spike the ground again. Neither of the boys saw it coming and were quickly stunned by the shock. Danny glared at the man and blasted the device from his hand the moment he got the chance. This unfortunately freed up on of the agents to get in a good shot and blasted him with some goo which made rather effective bindings around the halfa's torso. "Shit…."

He was quickly running out of ideas as he saw most of his allies down for the count until he looked up towards the Martian. He quickly recalled her ability to throw the helicopters around and an idea formed in his head. "Hey green girl!" M'gann certainly wasn't flattered by the title but it got her attention all the same. "You see that tower behind you? The one on the roof with the box under it?!" She scanned the roof and easily found what he was talking about. "Can you throw one of those helicopters at it!?" Though not quite sure of what he was getting at she listened regardless and in no time, a copter sailed towards the tower. An explosion ensued and then a secondary boom was heard. In seconds it seemed all the tech in the area was sparking up, including the battle suits the agents were wearing.

Chaos quickly followed as many of the men were besides themselves with how to remove the damaged and useless gear. The copters dropped out of the sky and the blasters were all fried. Danny took his chance and froze the goo that was holding him. He busted it off and flew over to L'gann. "Here you go." He held out a hand and blue energy shot out, freezing the goo at the Atlantian's heels.

He easily broke out of it afterwards. "Thanks!"

Miss Martian's first instinct upon seeing the disorder was to free Garfield, which was easy since the next had lost its power along with everything else. "Alright, let's go!" The Martian ordered and her team complied.

"Not so fast!" Agent O emerged from a crowd of the panicked men holding a switch. "You don't think it'll be that easy do you?"

Danny rolled his eyes as he flew in front of the team. "Sorry, but yeah." He then placed his fingers in his mouth and let out a whistle. Moments later and a large green monster dog jumped through a wall and pined the man down, crushing the device in his hands in the process. Danny couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Cujo tear the man's suit to shreds. The dog knew he wasn't allowed to really hurt him but the agent certainly didn't as he yelled for dear life. "Have fun rewiring the whole building again." Danny quipped as he floated back. "Come on Cujo!" Danny then flew off, passed the team and off through the darkening sky.

"I like him more every minute." Beast Commented looking back on the number he did on the agent, and trying to wipe off the remainder of the goo that he had been pelted with.

"Just who was that?" Questioned Lagoon Boy with his arms crossed.

"Come on L'gann, Nightwing was talking about him earlier." Responded Wonder Girl.

"That's Phantom, this is his town." Blue Beetle added in. "But…. How'd he get here so fast?" All he got were shrugs in response as Miss Martian delved into thought. Nightwing was talking about him to her just before the briefing. He was supposed to still be in happy harbor and Nightwing was still working out the whole recruitment deal. According to him, he seemed a bit quick tempered but Batman said it would be a good idea and when is Batman ever wrong? At least when it came to people.

"So I guess, mission accomplished?" Robin questioned looking over to Miss Martian.

She snapped out of thought and paused a moment. "Not quite….. we need to check something first."

* * *

Danny now found himself standing beside a pile of rubble with an almost dead look on his face. He almost had to do a double take but the broken green sign in the wreckage only continued to prove the reality he was faced with. "They….. blew up my house….. well shit." He then took a look to his left and let out a sigh. "And the neighbor's too….. at least they moved out…" He then began to scratch at his head. "Brighter note…. I didn't really sleep in my room anyway."

He flew over the wreckage while Cujo sat patiently at the perimeter. "Now I can only hope the reinforced walls of the lab saved it from caving in. He flipped over a few chucks of wall before he found the remains of the kitchen. Large portions of wall were still intact for the ground floor so it only made it more likely that the lab had indeed survived. He pushed away another piece of wall and found the broken in door of the lab. "This looks promising." He pulled it open with little effort but caused the door to break off a bit and headed down.

He gave a sigh of relieve when he saw the lab was relatively untouched aside from a few cracks near the door and some rubble at his feet. "I guess my luck isn't completely dry. He first headed over to the corner where he had set up his living area. He had long since stopped living in his room. The GIW could track his ecto-signature through the town which meant the only safe place was under the lab's ecto-proof walls. He also felt it would be easier to guard the portal if he stayed in the room, but it wasn't inconvenient to live in anyway….When it had power and running water.

He sifted through the blanket and under his duffle bag to find what he was looking for. Cujo hated going down into the lab and his squeaky toy was the only thing tantalizing enough to make him come. He gave the little bear a squeeze before heading to the stairs again. As he floated up he heard Cujo barking but not in warning so he thought he may have heard the toy from down in the basement. "Come on boy, I haven't even shown you yet….." He trailed off as soon as he saw who Cujo was barking about. The young heroes had somehow followed him home and truth be told, Danny was a bit speechless considering how good he had gotten at ditching a tail. "Hello….?" He questioned as the teens seemed equally surprised to see him.

"Phantom?" L'gann questioned while taking side glances at his teammates.

"What are you doing in Fenton Works ese? … and what happened?" Blue Beetle asked as he gestured to the rubble that was Fenton Works.

"Wait, this is Fenton Works?" Miss Martian questioned.

He gave a nod. "Yeah, see the address and there's the sign over there. Too bad it was destruido ese."

"Yeah." Danny responded while rubbing his neck. "If you look around this area, you'll find lots of damage and even destroyed houses. Give you one guess who works the demolition." He stated sarcastically as gave a laugh.

Beast Boy crossed his arms. "Looks like whatever it was the GIW wanted from this place is scrap by now.

Danny looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

The changeling turned to him. "Me and M'gann were looking over some of their files and found they were trying to get some top secret invention from Fenton Works."

Robin turned to him in interest. "What was it?"

"Files were encrypted." M'gann responded.

Danny gave a chuckle and pointed behind him. "Actually Fenton Works is in the basement of the house and it's still in one piece." That caught the whole teams attention as the followed M'gann over towards the halfa. "Just watch your step." He then proceeded to lead them down the stairs to the dimly lit lab. The first thing most of them noticed was the random little pieces of tech littering the tables, especially the one on the far wall. Miss Martian, however, seemed far more interested in the large intention in the back wall. The octagonal opening seemed strange to her. "Sorry but business shut down a while ago, feel free to look around though."

The Martian took a good look before turning to the ghost. "So, do you know what they wanted?"

Danny shrugged. "Could be a number of things really. They've already stolen half the patents Fenton Works had. Remember the antenna you destroyed? That was the amplifier for the massive ecto-converter box just below it. When you cut of the flow abruptly it causes a feedback wave which is what burned out all the tech."

"No way!" He turned to see Blue Beetle holding up a thermos. "It's one of those ghost catching thermoses! Muy Fresco!"

He held it over to Show Beast Boy who seemed equally interested. He then took another look at the tech on the table. "I was gonna take this card key but maybe something in here would make a cooler souvenir."

"Do you live here?" Wonder Girl questioned while pointing to the cozy corner.

"Kinda." The ghost responded. "Walls of the lab make a good cover. Good thing too, cause if I was still on the second floor my stuff would be under a pile of rubble."

"Technically still is." Robin pointed out as he gestured to the roof.

"Point taken." Danny admitted as he took a seat in one of the lab chairs.

_"Something wrong sis?"_ Questioned Beast Boy via the telepathic link.

She gave him a reassuring nod. "_Not really….. just a bit confused. The GIW seemed to be going through a lot of trouble to get whatever was here, but I don't see much."_ She then found her eyes wandering over to the opening in the wall. "What's that?"

Danny tensed a moment at the question before answering. "Broken… nothing important anyway."Miss Martian could feel he was keeping something back but when she tried to pry a bit into his mind she quickly found his toxic green eyes glaring at here and it made her uneasy. "Excuse me?"

She dropped her attempt tried to play it off. "Sorry what?"

Danny raised a brow. "… never mind then."

M'gann then heard a buzzing in her ear as Nightwing made contact. "Mission status?"

She tapped the receiver and responded. "Complete. I was able to get some data on the motives. We are currently checking out a lead with Phantom."

The teen seemed surprised. "Phantom's with you?"

"Yeah, he helped us out quite a bit when things got complicated on our way out of the building."

"Happy to hear. I was a bit curious when he never came back as to how he was gonna get back to Amity Park."

"Stowing away on your ship was easy enough." Danny commented from the chair beside M'gann. He seemed to have been eves dropping on the whole thing.

"What was that?" Nightwing asked from the other end.

"He said he stowed away. He was listening in on us."

Danny gave a chuckle. "Hard not too when the topic is me."

Nightwing gave pause before asking Miss Martian to allow him to speak to Danny. "Just for a sec alright?"

She nodded and handed the com to Danny who took it a bit hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Danny, this is Nightwing remember?"

"Oh yeah, tall guy in the domino mask."

He heard a laugh on the other end. "Have you given anymore thought to invitation? Miss Martian said you were a team player when things got tight."

"To be honest? Not really; haven't really had a moment for that."

"If you're worried about Amity Park, like I said earlier, you can come and go. I understand the city is your fist priority. We're just asking if you'd like to help out."

Danny found himself rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I appreciate that….. Now that you bring it up though I guess the offer sounds good, I guess." He spoke in a sort of shy tone as he remembered how he'd stormed out earlier. "Sorry about earlier…. I was angry at someone else."

Nightwing's tone remained relaxed. "No problem, but could you come back with Miss Martian and the team? We can handle the details here." Danny gave a long pause after that which confused vigilantly. "Danny?"

"Sorry…. I kind of feel bad asking but you guys wouldn't happen to have a spare room would you? My house got blown up while I was gone."

* * *

**I liked the ending there. It just seemed like the best place to stop ya'know? Hope this chapter was okay, it certainly was long... anyway, I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to review and let me know if I made any mistakes or simply tell me what you liked or didn't like. Much ableiged. =^-^=**


	4. Chapter 4 - Exiled

**Okay so Ch. 4, I have a few things I need to get squared away about how I plan to have this story go but I'll wait until the end to go over them. Please enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 4 - Exiled**

* * *

It's safe to say Nightwing was speechless at the revelation. He thought Danny's worry was a bit misplaced, but for something like that to actually happen overnight? Certainly a surprise to him. Once over the slight shock he was more than happy to comply. The base had plenty of room considering it already had several borders and one more wouldn't be a problem. After getting a few things packed up the team plus one headed up from the crumbling basement. "So I guess that's it ese? Got to say it'll be cool working with you." Blue Beetle stated as he helped Danny with one of the boxes he'd packed.

His belongings only consisted of a couple large boxes and the duffle bag where he kept his clothes. Blue Beetle placed the box down and Danny copied him, not being all that sure about how the ship was arranged. Danny rubbed the back of his neck before answering. "Really? I mean, I don't know…. I've never really worked on a team before…. Least not one like this."

"No worries hermano, I'm pretty new myself."

"Is that everything Phantom?" M'gann asked as she levitated by the bio-ship.

Danny gave a nod as he turned back towards the rubble that was his home since before he could remember. Memories and reminders that littered the hall were now buried, which in Danny's opinion, wasn't such a bad thing. He hated being reminded every time he walked through his front door. He then noticed the large green dog laying down while watching him curiously. "Oh… right. Come on Cujo!"

"Okay, not that I'm down on the dog or anything, he's sweet, but how do you expect to get him into the ship?" Wonder Girl asked. This dog was weird, that was for sure. Back when she first came to Amity Park the dog somehow followed them back but it disappeared just before takeoff.

"It's not a problem. The bio-ship can compensate for its size."

Danny waved it off. "Its fine, you don't have to."

Blu gave a nod in agreement. "So this is that ghost dog from issue 10 right, the one who changes sizes?"

Danny raised a brow at the armored teen. "That's still weird man….." He then turned to the dog who was sitting in an expectant position and peering down at his master. "Alright Cujo down." He commanded as he lowered his hand which was flat and facing the ground. The dog complied with a bark and shrunk down inside the large collar which followed suit. He got several surprised reactions as the little dog held his sitting position while waging his tail. "See, no problem."

Wonder Girl kneeled down to the monster dog turned puppy. "Aww, he's so cute now!"

She easily picked him up before Danny could warn her. "Wait he's-" Too late as he coated her face in slobber. The dog, though extremely protective, loved people, and was far to eager to show it. Her predicament got a few laughs from the team as she tried to wipe away the absurd amount of slobber after placing the dog back down. "He gets a bit… over excited….?" Danny tried in apology. It did little to make Wonder Girl feel better as she pulled at a bit of damp hair sticking to her face. "I….. let me help." Danny proposed as he laid one finger on her shoulder. Before she even realized what he'd done she was translucent and the slobber was now a small puddle on the ground. He moved his hand away and she became solid again causing her to take a second glance at herself.

She scrutinized her arm a moment before thanking him. "Thank you….?" She just couldn't keep the confusion from her voice. "What was that?"

The Danny was confused. "What was what?"

"I wasn't….. it just fell right off….. right?"

Danny figured where she was going but still seemed a bit confused. "What? The slobber? I just figured you wouldn't want to have dog slobber on you so I made you intangible." L'gann seemed equally astonished as Danny looked around with Robin joining in. "What's the big deal? Doesn't Megan do that?"

She shook her head as she landed by the halfa. "Actually for me its density shifting. I can't share that with another person like you just did."

Beast Boy was more excited than confused. "That's how you got me out of the building right?"

Danny responded with a nod and Blue Beetle posed a question. "So can you do that with your invisibility too?" Danny raised a brow in confidence as he placed a hand on Blu's shoulder. Seconds later the teen disappeared from the visible spectrum much to his own delight. "Awesome!" He started to shake his arms around a bit invisibly and accidently knocked Danny off causing him to reappear.

"That's just awesome! Can I be invisible next?" Beast Boy begged.

"Sorry Beast Boy, but we need to get back alright? We can't expect Nightwing to wait all night." Miss Martian said as she gestured to the ship.

Though a bit disappointed he agreed. "Noted." He then hoped up the ramp into the ship.

* * *

Mount Justice – Jan 9

Upon their return, the team, Danny included, made their way to the computer room to be debriefed. Batman and another man stood beside Nightwing as the teenagers lined up in front of him. "nice to know you made it back in one piece." Nightwing said with a smile.

Miss Martian gave a nod while Beast Boy gave a grin. "Did you think we weren't?"

"I was worried after that agent got the drop on us." Robin admitted as he turned to Blue Beetle.

"Me too hermano, but things worked out."

"In no small part to you I hear." Nightwing stated as he faced Danny. "Welcome to the team." He said with a hand outstretched.

Danny though a bit shy, took it happily. "Thanks."

"What did you find out?" Asked the dark knight as he turned to the Martian.

She wiped out the flash drive she held the data on and handed it off to the leaguer. "You were right, Lex was after something. He seemed to be using the GIW to try and get to it."

He turned and nodded to Nightwing. "As expected."

"The file is encrypted so we weren't able to figure out what it was they were after."

Nightwing took the drive. "I'll put it on queue then. I'm still knee deep in the Krolotean encryption."

"Well whatever it is he wanted, he's not getting it." Danny stated in a matter of fact tone. He then raised a brow in curiosity. "To be honest though, what would a billionaire want with ghost hunting tech anyway?" Not much was answered during the few minutes they went over it but time would eventually tell.

Nightwing then went over and pulled up a few images on the computer. "By the way Danny, I wanted to ask if you know what these were. We had a bit of a ghost problem a while back." The image he pulled up was pretty blurry but it held the form of some sort of bluish-white canine with what looked to be four yellow eyes.

Danny took a minute to look over the image before coming to a mental consensus. "It's pretty fuzzy but I'd say you've got a black dog. Of course if there were a lot of them then it's more likely to be a whole spirit pack."

Nightwing gave a nod. "Yeah there were at least a dozen of them."

"Then it's a spirit pack." He then moved towards the picture more. "So did someone steal something?"

"Yeah, those ghosts did."

Danny seemed a bit confused. "Well that's rare….. what was it?"

"An energy scanner."

Now Danny was even more confused. This didn't fit that particular ghost at all. "Okay…. Weird."

Nightwing turned to him in intrigue. "What makes you say that? Ghost's don't steal?"

Danny shook his head. "No, ghost steal… a lot, but not these ghosts. These ones are usually found protecting something, like in ruins or burial sites. They'll follow and haunt anyone who takes from their site. In some cases they have even been known to take back what was taken but somehow I doubt this is the case." He then gave a shrug. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen a ghost do though."

The team leader gave Danny's info some thought before taking down the image. "Well that's one question answered at least, thanks." He said with appreciation.

Batman then made his way out of the room. "We need to get more answers. I'm going to go do a bit more research." He then left towards the Zeta tubs.

"So, this mean were done?" Jaime said as he stretched. "Cause I need to catch some sleep ese." Nightwing gave a nod and the tired teen turned on his heel. He stopped short and turned to Danny. "I'll be sure to bring the issues next time." And then he headed off to the tubes. Cass decided to call it a night too and followed the boy towards the tubes. Danny gave a wave as they headed off.

"So Danny right?" The halfa turned to see the large African American man addressing him. "Name's Mal, I coordinate teams. Nice to meet you."

Danny took his outstretched hand. "Same here."

"I heard you're gonna be staying here. I'm a resident too by the way."

Nightwing walked over to the two. "Yeah, that's right." The teen said as he recalled that fact. "I still can't believe something like that actually happened over night."

"You and me both." Danny stated in agreement and with a tinge of agitation. "Of course the kitchen still has 2 standing walls. I guess it was pretty lucky that I was the only one living in the area." He said jokingly. Nightwing raised a brow at the boy's lighter mood. Earlier it seemed he was tense and solemn but he seemed far more open now.

Mal gave a laugh at his comment. "I don't know if I could joke about my house being reduced to rubble."

Danny simply shrugged in response. "Yeah, I know I should be madder about that but what good will that do me? Besides, I already got a little payback for it." The halfa smirked as he remembered the expression on the agent's face as Cujo tore at his suit. "Anyway, I really appreciate you helping me out like this."

Nightwing waved it off before calling Beast Boy over. "Hey Beast Boy!" The green teen turned from the conversation he was having with his blood sister and towards the call of the leader. "Think you can help our new member get settled? He's gonna have the room across from yours."

"No problem!" He then walked over and gestured down the hall. "This way Phantom."

Danny was happy to follow the young changeling as he guided him down the halls. He glanced around the walls as he went in curiosity. "So….. top secret hero base?"

Beast Boy gave a nod. "Yeah. M'gann says it was used by the Justice League's in the beginning but then its location got revealed."

"Thus the tourist trap huh? So why are they still using this place if its compromised?" Danny added air quotes around the last word as a slight jest.

Garfield paused a moment to think about it himself. "I guess it's a hiding in plain sight kind of deal?"

"So its compromised making it unlikely to be used?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah." Confirmed his guide as he stopped by a door. "Here you go." He opened a door to reveal the relatively empty room. It contain a bed, table, chair and closet. "Its got all the basics."

Danny took a quick look around and gave a nod. "Its better than what I was working with." He then turned to Beast Boy who had a very expectant expression. "Uh….. hmm?"

Garfield realized he was being a bit obvious and blushed a bit. "You think you could do that invisibility thing? Just once, please!" He pleaded as he clasped his hands together.

Danny raised a brow and a small smile formed on his lips. "Sure, no problem."

He simply reached out and held one finger to the boy's shoulder before he flickered out of the visible spectrum. "Whoa!" Danny could only imagine what the changeling was doing considering all he had to go on was what he felt through contact. It seemed to him he was jumping around while being smart to keep close to Danny. "This is so cool! You must do this all the time."

Danny retracted his hand. "Well, not really. I guess I just got used to it. I mean, being able to turn into any animal; that must get old too right?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Not really. I love animals, and especially seeing new ones." He then turned to leave the room. "Well, thanks Phantom, that was cool. Let me know if you need something. I'm right across the hall."

"Sure, and Beast Boy?" Garfield paused and turned back to the halfa expectantly. "Call me Danny if you want."

Beast Boy gave a smile. "Sure and you can call me Gar."

* * *

Jan 25 – Mt. Justice

The next few weeks were relatively quiet at the base. Nightwing spent most of the time going over the encrypted data while Batman would come and assist on occasion, though he was busy with the other leaguers planning the trip to Rimbor. He was in the main computer room when Jaime entered looking as if he was looking for someone. "Hey Nightwing…. You seen Danny around?"

The young man answered without turning back as he kept his attention on the data. "He left a few hours ago for Amity Park."

Blu let out a sigh. "Again? How do I keep missing him?" He then shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and walked out. He found himself inside the main living area, but it was empty so he figured he would go ahead and leave. He grabbed for a bag placed on the counter and headed for the tubes.

"Guess you missed him again huh?" Beast Boy commented as he entered the room.

Jaime shrugged. "Yeah…. I haven't even talked to him since he first got here."

Beast Boy gave a nod. "I haven't talked to him much either. I see him every once in a while but he's always in a hurry to start his patrol in Amity Park." Both of them let out sighs as they lamented the facts. They were pretty excited about having a new member and getting to know them but that gets pretty hard when their never around.

"Anyway, we don't have any missions now so, I guess I'll just go home."

Just as he turned towards the Zeta tubes they started up with a whine. "Danny Phantom B06" The halfa appeared seconds later with a look of severe frustration on his face. He seemed to be carrying a long cylindrical container as headed towards the main computer room. Jaime was more than a little surprised he'd come back so it took him a minute to register his chance. "Het Danny!"

The ghost boy turned at the call of his name. "Hey Jaime… What's up?"

He held up the bag in his hand. "I finally caught you, that's what's up. I've been trying for weeks ese."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a short apology. "Sorry…. I've just been pretty busy. I never really had a lot of free time before….." he paused seeing the bag and the expectant expression on the boy's face. "Um…. Can we talk a bit later? I need to speak with Nightwing real quick okay?"

A frown grew quickly on the teens face but he nodded in understanding. "Sure…. No problem ese." Danny then quickly continued off towards the computer room while Jaime joined Beast Boy on the couch.

Beast Boy looked at the bag in curiosity. "What's in there?"

Jaime placed the bag on the table and pulled out what appeared to be a comic book. "These are the entire first release of "The Phantom of Amity Park." He held it up to show him. "It's a comic book series about Danny."

Gar's eyes widened. "No way! Really?"

He took the comic from Jaime's hands immediately causing the boy a bit of distress with the care of his comics. "Hey, be careful ese. These are first editions!"

Gar gave a sheepish grin and apologized. "Sorry, this is just too cool." He flipped it open to see a large meat monster attacking a high school.

"That's issue 1 and it's called Mystery Meat." He watched as the green teen flipped through it.

"Danny know about these?"

Jaime gave a shrug. "He didn't seem to when I mentioned them so I was gonna show him. I want to know how much of the comics are true."

"Like what?" Beast Boy asked as he flipped back to the beginning.

"Like how he's the ghost of Bill Invisio from the 70's, or the fact that he started being a hero because he saw the giant meat monster in issue 1 was going to destroy the school if he didn't do anything." He then paused for a second as he lifted another issue from the bag.

His hand started to shake a bit which caused Beast Boy a bit of worry. "You okay?"

"No way….."

BB raised a brow. "So you're not okay?"

"No hermano…. Check this out!"

* * *

"So they did put it up after all?" Nightwing inquired as he continued at the keyboard.

"Yeah." Danny responded dryly. "You were right. Whatever Lex wants, he obviously doesn't want me around to stop him."

The team leader finally turned away from the computer while pinching the bridge of his nose. When he looked up he noticed the large cylinder strapped to the halfa's back. "What's that?"

Danny glanced back at it. "This….. It's blue prints." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I figured since I was, for all intents and purposes, going to be locked out of the city, I should grab them before I left."

"Blueprints for what?" Danny remained silent a moment thinking over whether he should tell him or not. Nightwing saw the hesitance on his face and couldn't help thinking back to just a few days after Phantom joined the team.

_"Daniel James Fenton. Age 16. Your legal guardian was your sister, Jasmine Fenton as of March of last year. You were emancipated August of that year. Current residence is within the city of Amity Park." _

_Danny stared at Batman with wide eyes. "How did you figure all that out?" The bat simply raised a brow at the boy who quickly realized how stupide he sounded. "Right… Batman… stupide question. Anyway, so did you call me in here just for that?" He seemed a bit frustrated about his not so secret identity but it is Batman he was dealing with. _

_"No." Batman responded. "I told you all that so you wouldn't have any reservations about anything I ask you. Luthor was after an invention created by your parents. That being said, you are our best bet to figuring that out aside from what Miss Martian was able to get off the GIW computers." _

_Danny scratched his head. "Even if you say that, I don't have any clue as to what he would want with any of them. My parents were ghost hunters. They built ghost weapons. What could business man like Luthor possibly do with stuff like that?" _

_Nightwing crossed his arms. "That's what we need to figure out. He's going through an awful lot of trouble in order to get whatever it is he wants so it must be important." _

_Batman gave a nod. "That precisely why I believe he was moving the GIW for the sole purpose of getting rid of you." _

_Danny raised a brow at that. "Wait… where did that come from?"_

_ "Think about it. He's after an invention owned under Fenton Works. Normally a patent will hold for an allotted time, but if the patent holder dies with no one to take it afterwards, that's when it can be taken advantage of. Neither you or your sister was old enough to inherit the titles and so they were left to the court where he could easily take them without any retaliation." _

_Danny seemed a bit confused by the whole thing. "That explains why the GIW were able to get their hands on so much of the tech… but if he was able to take them through the court, why keep going?" _

_"Simple." Batman stated. "He didn't find what he was looking for."_

Danny let out a sigh as he pulled it off his back. "I was thinking about before…. When Batman said he couldn't find what he was looking for. This is the only invention my parents built that was never put in any sort of record. My parents were a bit paranoid when it came to this one in particular." Nightwing didn't seem all that surprised, he and Batman both felt Danny hadn't been completely forth coming with what he knew. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit as he continued. "I didn't say anything before mostly because I still have no idea why Lex would want it."

Nightwing crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. "But what exactly is it?"

"Blueprints for an interdimensional portal… a ghost portal."

The young vigilante's eyes widened at that. "A …. Ghost portal?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, it's a portal to the ghostly plain or the Ghost Zone as it's called. Its one of the first big inventions they made from back in their college days. This is the only copy of the blueprints in existence and I dismantled the one back in the lab. If this is what they were after, there's no way they're getting it."

Nightwing, though he heard everything Danny said, was still a bit hung up on the concept of the Ghost Zone. "Yeah, okay but a Ghost Zone?"

"It's just as it sounds, a zone full of ghosts. It's a dimension that runs not just parallel to this one but it even connects at times. I was told it was like flipside of our world."

Nightwing shook his head in a bit of frustration. "I've got way too much on my plate to be trying to wrap my head around that." He then let out a sigh. "Is this the only one for sure?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah, all the other ones were placed under patents which means Lex most likely already has them." Danny then pulled the container back onto his back. "Anyway, I thought I'd at least tell you about it for all the help you've given me."

As Danny made his way out of the room Nightwing stopped him for a brief moment. "I appreciate you trusting me with this alright?" Danny knew by this point that Dick was a very genuine person which is why decided to tell him in the first place. "Now, I know it'll probably be frustrating for you being locked out of Amity Park, so you should take the next few days and try adjusting alright?"

Danny gave a shrug. "Sure….." He then rubbed the back of his head. "Now that I think about it though. If you really wanted to stop any kind of ghost activity in the city, placing a large ghost shield over it would certainly do the trick. The thing that annoys me about it is the fact that it pretty much sucks the power grid dry. Its ridiculous how they can't put together a better system than that, I mean my house wasn't even connected to the power grid. You'd think by stealing all its tech they'd be able to do the same." He then let out a sigh as he turned towards the door again. "Anyway, I'm going to go put this away. Let me know if you need something." And with that he left Nightwing to his decrypting. As he turned back to his work he couldn't help being a bit jealous at how well adjusted the teen was. He was able to deal with so much in the past year and still kept going.

* * *

As Danny headed off to his room he immediately noticed both Beast Boy and Jaime sitting on the couch with a pile of what seemed to magazines from afar. "No hermano…. Check this out!" He watched as Beast Boy looked over Jaime's shoulder in interest and couldn't help his own curiosity. "Do you see this guy here?"

As Danny approached he realized it wasn't a magazine but a comic book he was looking at and Jaime seemed to be trying to show a specific character. "What's up?"

Both of them instantly turned to see Danny still holding the long container from before. "Oh hey…. You done talking to Nightwing?"

Danny gave a nod as he looked over the comics some more. "Are these those…."

"Yeah hermano, I've been trying to show then to you for a while now."

Danny didn't seem all that pleased with what he saw of the comics. "So I really have my own comic book series huh?"

"Here's the first issue." Gar said as he held it up to him. "Were you really called by in a séance done in the basement of a high school?"

Danny took the comic as he furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?" When he flipped open the first page, he instantly found himself regretting it as it depicted a gaggle of girls sitting in the unusually large basement storage of the school. "What is this crap?"

"I thought so." Jaime declared. "I just noticed it a minute ago ese. You looked like this guy when you had that transformation." He held up another comic with a page opened to a depiction of a school hallway under attack by some green goo monster. "The kid on the right."

Danny was more than a bit surprised to see himself as Fenton in the comic book, and couldn't help wondering just who the writer was to have so much detail. "Who writes these things?" He turned it over to see the author. "B. Hartmen huh? I might just have to go and have a talk with this guy." He let out a sigh. "First of all, I'm nobody's ghost and second, I wasn't brought out by some weird ritual done by obsessed girls."

Jaime held up the book again. "So then…. Are you him?"

Danny let out another sigh and took a good look at both boys. "Alright I'll tell you guys, but don't go telling everyone else okay? It's not much of a secret identity if everyone knows about it."

Beast Boy a salute. "No problem."

"Yeah ese, su secreto."

Danny then gave a nod before taking a quick look behind himself. "Alright, yes that's me in the book. I can morph between how I look here and how I look now." He then allowed the ring to develop and envelop him to reveal Fenton instead of Phantom. "See?"

"Sweet!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he sat up on the couch.

Danny was quick to morph back and reclaim his ghostly persona. "Anyway, I really hope you don't believe all the stuff you read in those comics."

Jaime gave the comics a questioning glance. "So your real name isn't Bill Invisio?"

Danny paused for a moment allowing it to sink in before he face palmed loud enough for it to echo. "Still the worst name ever….." He then lowered his hand to reveal a dry expression. "No…. please for the love of god, never mention that name again. My name is really Danny, please call me Danny."

"Noted." Beast Boy then continued to flip through the pages. "So what about these ghosts?" He flipped it open to reveal a shadow like ghost with a fanged smile wrestling with Phantom.

Danny raised a brow at that. "Johnny 13's shadow?"

Jaime looked over to the page. "So he's real?"

Danny gave a nod as he looked over the spread of the covers displayed on the table. He could see several familiar faces such as Skulker, Walker, Spectra ect… "Actually…. All of those are real ghosts." He said as he pointed to the stack. "How many of these do you have?"

The teen took a moment to think about it. "Well, I have so many of them. I keep them in boxes so they don't get thrown out, but I was able to dig out the first 10." The three of them spent the next couple of hours looking through the comics before Jaime checked the time. "Whoa, I got to go ese."

He turned to see the look of frustration on Danny's face as he flipped through Issue 5. "I can't believe this." He heard him grumble under his breath.

"What?" Beast Boy inquired as he looked over the halfa's shoulder.

Danny held it up and pointed in agitation. "How the heck did they know how many times I got shoved in my locker that day?"

Jaime and Gar traded glances before Jaime remembered the time again. "Sorry ese, but I gotta go. We're having guest at my house tonight."

Danny was brushing his fingers through his hair as he handed the book over. "Yeah okay…." He then stood up. "Thanks for letting me see them."

Jaime piled them all neatly back into the back before turning towards the Zeta tubes. "I'll bring more if I can find them."

"Sure." Danny responded as he headed for his room holding the long cylinder from before. He gave a lazy wave as he continued down. "Later."

Beast took a few passing glances between the two of them before waving goodbye to Jaime. "See ya, can't wait to read more." He then scampered off behind Danny and arrived at his door just after him. He peeked through the cracked doorway to see Danny stashing the long object in his closet. "So… what are you gonna do now?" He asked as he poked his head through.

Danny gave a yawn. "Now I'm going to take a nap. I haven't had a decent night's sleep for a couple of days."

A frown found its way to Gar's face as he responded. "Oh…."

Danny turned to him. "Something wrong Gar?"

That got the boy's attention. He had told him to call him by his name but this was the first time he actually had. After that first day he had really hoped they could be friends and hangout but Danny was just never around. "Uh… nothing. Have a good nap." Still seeming a bit disappointed the changeling wandered back over to his own room and was greeted by a small green dog whom he had become quite friendly with. "Oh hey Cujo!"

* * *

The rest day, Danny spent mostly cooped up in his room messing with a few of the random parts he had brought from the lab. It was probably his favorite way of taking his mind off of things and it seemed to work pretty well in between his patrols through Amity Park. He was using his ghost ray to weld two pieces together when he accidentally fried a piece of a circuit board. "Crap….." He pulled the safety googles up over his forehead and took a better look at his blunder. "I guess it's back to square one with this one."

After stretching a bit he looked to the clock on the table and it read 11:45. "Guess I've been at this for….. too long considering I don't remember when I started." He stretched a bit again before pulling the goggles off his head and floating up out of the chair. "Maybe I'll go for a quick flight before going to bed." He gave a slight pause. "At a relatively decent hour for once." He dashed up and through the roof to be greeted by the calm night air.

It was vastly different to the tense atmosphere he felt in Amity Park. He missed it but at the same time he enjoyed the lax feeling of flying around without the fear of being shot at. It's been way too long since he could just go for a nice nighttime flight. He'd been at it for almost half an hour when he happened by the coast by Mt. Justice. The crowed on the shore wasn't a surprise. Nightwing had told him that a few of the leaguers needed to go off world due to some kind of incident.

He watched invisibly as each protégé said their goodbye's to the mentors they trained under. He made sure to stay far away from Super boy this time around. They still didn't get along too well. He couldn't help feeling just a bit jealous at the sight and wondering how different things could have been if he'd had a mentor like Nightwing and several of the others. He gave a sigh as he rubbed his forehead invisibly. He knew there wasn't much of a point to 'what ifs' and snapped out of his thoughts just in time to see Green Lantern generate a space shuttle from his ring. He had a slight nerd moment as he tried to ascertain the model but as soon as it left he decided to make his way back inside. I have a really bad feeling about this." He mumbled as he phased through the stony surface of his secret home.

* * *

**Okay and cut! Hope ya'll liked the chapter, I worked hard typing it and making it long. I now have a few explanations on how this will be going if you are curious.**

**First of all, I gave him the designation B06 because it was convenient. Red Arrow wasn't using it anymore and I also didn't want to get any of the later designations mixed up. (Like Impulse or Arsenal) **

**Second is the comic series. I've been wanting to put his comic series in ever since I re-watched Reality Trip cause I thought it was a fun idea. This is going to be a big factor for the friendship between Blu Beetle and Danny. To be frank, just imagine the episodes without the audience knowing that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. Fenton is more or less a background character much like any reference to Sam, Tucker, Dash ect... I'll put it in later too but its not a big thing.**

**Third is Amity Park. I planned from the begging to exile him from the city but the bigger reason behind it won't be revealed till later. Of course he could enter as a human but what good could he do like that if he can't use his powers? Anyway, just don't think too much into it.**

**Anyway, thx for reading and I hope you'll leave a review with thoughts, feelings, questions or all of the above.=^-^=**


	5. Chapter 5 - Resources

**Okay I'm going to start more into the show now with this chapter with most of the events taking place during the episode "Salvage" Also note, I omitted the scenes with Red Arrow because they would remain the same regardless. I'll put any other notes at the bottom so please enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 5 - Resources**

* * *

Jan 30 – Mt. Justice

Danny decided to spend this morning outside his room, which he tended to stay cooped up in for far too long. He was sitting on the couch reading a book about unusual astral phenomenon when he heard one of the Zeta Tubes start up. "Miss Martian B05; Lagoon Boy B18" Danny hadn't seen much of the Atlantean since their mission in Amity Park and he just didn't feel comfortable talking to Megan. He couldn't put his finger on it but she just unnerved him. The couple was being as lovable as ever as Miss Martian made her way over to the kitchen area and La'gann sat at the bar. "Just stay put and I'll start on those dumplings you like so much." She then gave him a quick peck on the check before going to the fridge.

Danny remained quiet on the couch, not wanting to interrupt them; he didn't have much of a reason too anyway. Unfortunately for him Lagoon boy noticed him on the couch and decided to wander over. "Hey Phantom!" He leaned over the couch. "Haven't seen much of you around."

"I guess not." Was all he had to say.

La'gann raised a brow. "So what're you reading?"

Danny made no real attempt to look his way as he answered. "It's about the repercussions of collapsing stars."

The Atlantean furrowed his brow at the boy's unresponsive attitude and jumped over the couch. "Well chum, why don't we have a match? I haven't seen much of your skills since we fought those government guys."

Danny turned the page and shook his head. "No thanks, I appreciate the offer though." La'gann then crossed his arms in slight frustration. Getting Danny to talk to him was already seeming rather hard and a sparring match certainly didn't seem to work.

"Morning Danny!" Beast Boy said as he waved and headed towards the halfa.

Danny finally put down the book and turned towards Gar. "What's up Beast Boy?"

He sat down on the other side of Danny. "I'm surprised you're not back in your room. You've kinda been a shut in."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's why I'm out here today."

Lagoon Boy watched the two of them in slight confusion. Why was Phantom so easy for Beast Boy to talk too? "Oh hey La'gann."

"Hey." The Atlantean responded.

"Anyway Danny, I think I finally got Cujo to hide."

Danny raised a brow. "Gezz, I've been trying to teach him to disappear on command but I guess that's a close second. Let's see." He then placed his fingers in his mouth and proceeded to whistle. No sooner had he lowered his hand did Cujo come barreling down the hall at the call of his master. He looked like a streak of green as he dashed onto the couch and sat in the halfa's lap. "Good boy Cujo." He praised as he scratched the ghost hound's ear.

"Okay watch." Beast Boy snapped his fingers to get the dog's attention before placing both hands over his head. "Cujo, hide." The green dog seemed confused for a moment before dashing off and crawling behind the TV. "See?" Garfield declared proudly.

Danny gave a light clap. "Bravo Gar, and it only took a couple of days."

"What kind of dog is this?" La'gann wondered as he made his presence re-known.

"He's a ghost dog. From what I could gather, he used to be a guard dog." Danny then whistled back for Cujo who happily complied. "He's a bit over protective at times though."

Gar gave a laugh at that. "You mean when he and Wolf were going at it right? That was cool." Danny scratched at the side of his face. "Somehow…. I really don't think Super Boy would agree."

Beast Boy leaned over to pat Cujo's head. "Especially after you threw him against the wall."

"You threw Super Boy? Now I really want to have a match with you." La'gann pressured.

Beast Boy was all over the idea in seconds. "Yeah! Come on Danny."

Danny sighed and shook his head. "I don't like to take up the habit of getting into random fights."

Lagoon Boy corrected him quickly. "Sparing match chum. Hand to hand only."

Beast Boy then gave him a pleading expression. "Please Danny?" He had his hands clasped together as he begged.

Danny was a bit beside himself as he scratched his hairline. "Fine…. I guess it couldn't hurt."

* * *

The trio made their way to the combat room where the sparing pad lay at the center. Danny and La'gann took opposing sides while Beast Boy stood at the side. "Ready?" Gar asked as he looked at either combatant. Danny didn't seem to be too fired up but Lagoon Boy was more than ready for a fight. "Begin!"

Lagoon Boy moved first with a right punch as he rushed Danny. The halfa didn't make any move to dodge but instead caught the punch and elbowed the Atlantian in the gut. Only stunned for a moment, Lagoon Boy then tried a kick which did surprise Danny a bit. He shuffled back in recoil and La'gann took more ground. He tried a low left jab this time Danny quickly parried by guarding with his elbow.

The halfa then took the offensive with a rush of his own. The Atlantian was able to read the attack and turned it around on him, now holding the teen in a head lock with his arm at his back. "Looks like I've got you this time Chum." He pushed Danny to the ground and now had a hold on him.

The message floated up indicating Danny's failure but the grin he wore wouldn't show it. "You really think so?" Without warning La'gann had two legs wrapped around his head successfully pulling him up and releasing Danny's neck from its hold. Lagoon Boy grabbed at the boots holding him before finding himself flipped face first into the floor. As he pushed himself up, a new message showing his loss appeared and a pair of white boots stood before him. Danny crouched down and held out a hand. "You shouldn't assume you've won just because you have your opponent down."

Still quite confused at what had happened he took Danny's hand. "W-what did you do?"

Gar ran up. "You should have seen it! You had him pinned down, but then Danny's waist broke in half! It was like something Plastic man would do! He grabbed you by the neck and just flipped you."

La'gann raised a brow. "He did what?"

"I did this." Danny stated as his upper half suddenly extended above his lower. A lite smoke could be seen attaching the two halves. "Even if the fight is restricted to hand-to-hand, I'm not nearly as limited as most people think." He then joined his two halves and walked over to a panel where he'd set down his book. "Thanks for the match." He said nothing more as he thumbed for his page and headed back to the couch he had sat on before.

As soon as he was out of sight, La'gann cursed himself at his loss. "Neptune's beard!"

"What's up? I know it was weird, but you're not usually a sore loser."

He crossed his arms and responded. "Well, I am a bit mad about the loss, but I'm mostly mad that I couldn't really talk to him." He then had a look as if he had just remembered something. "How is it you can talk to him so easily?"

Gar gave a shrug. "I don't know… I just do? I mean, I know he's not the most social guy, but if you can find a common topic, I'm sure he'd open up more."

* * *

Feb 13 – Mt. Justice

A few members of the team and league watch as Dr. Strange initiates the activation of the Zeta Shield. Danny stood by Beast Boy who was busy doing schoolwork as he watched the holographic display. "Absolutely historic!" Lagoon Boy exclaimed as he held one hand over Ma'gann's shoulder. He then turned to Beast Boy and his teacher. "Hey Professor Car, you should have your cave school pupil write a term paper about this."

Gar immediately gave him a gesture to cut it out while Danny shook his head as he stifled a laugh. "Glad I don't have any more of those…."

"With the Zeta shield in place, no alien can teleport from off world. Even your Strange friend won't be able to teleport to and from Ran without prior approval." He finished as he turned to Miss Martian.

"Yeah but that's not the only way to get to Earth right?" Danny questioned as he turned to them.

Super Boy then strolled passed with an agitated expression. "Shields great, but it won't stop a space ship or a Boom Tube." He stopped and crossed his arms next to Jaime.

"What's a Boom Tube?" He questioned in a low voice. Danny took a spot beside him as his face twisted in confusion. "Not compatible with what?! I swear I don't understand half the things you say!" He said in frustration as he crossed his arms.

Danny gave him a curious look before looking over to Mal. "Huh?"

"Feelings mutual…."

"You okay Jaime?"

He turned to the halfa with a nervous air. "Oh… uh.. fine. I'm cool ese."

"You sure? That was kinda….. random?"

He reached one hand behind his head and gave him a reassuring expression. "Yeah its cool."

"Where's Nightwing?" Super boy asked Mal in agitation.

"He's takin the night off. Personal business."

The Kryptonian responded with a sigh. "Perfect."

He then took a look around the room and his eyes fell on La'gann and Me'gann who were busy acting like a couple. "So, back to movie night Angel Fish?"He instantly turned away from that and took another scope of the room.

"So you doing anything later?" Jaime asked Danny in attempt to turn the conversation away from his embarrassing outburst.

"No, not really. I've hit a snag in my latest project and-"

Without any warning at all, Super Boy grabbed Jaime by the shirt. "You're it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Con. Where are you going?"

"I'm taking the night off; personal business."

Danny rolled his eyes. "What's up with him?"

Mal gave a shrug. "Conner can be like that sometimes. Kinda wonder what's got him so wound up right now." Mal walked back and Danny watched the two as they headed towards the hanger. He took a passing glance at the others in the room before silently floating off after them.

* * *

Danny followed silently as the Super Cycle tailed what looked to be an industrial truck. Blue Beetle sat slouched in the back quietly shushing someone whom nobody knew. "Alright, I'll ask!"

"Ask what?" Super Boy questioned without turning around.

Blu let out a sigh before asking. "Any piece of this mission you feel like letting me in on? Look, I know you only picked me cause Gar was studying, La'gann and Me'gann were…. Whatevering, and you avoid Danny like the plague, but I'm here ese, and I wanna help."

Super Boy gave a pause before loosening up. "Yeah okay." He then started on his explanation of how intergang smuggled weapons onto Earth through Boom Tubes, and that it may be related to the bomb from Melina Island. For whatever reason, the Kroloteans didn't seem to know anything about it. "I've been keeping tabs on Whisper A'deire, one of Intergang's top lieutenants. Tonight, her boss, Bruno 'Ugly' Manheim crawled out of hiding to meet up with her. They're both in that truck, and it looks like they're headed for…. The Hall of Justice…"

"Sounds like they're up to something." A voice, seemingly out of nowhere, stated. Jaime couldn't help but jump a bit as Danny appeared just beside him.

Super Boy turned and gave him a glare before turning forward to face their target. "What are you doing here?"

Danny sat back and crossed his arms. "Well Mal thought you seemed riled up earlier so I figured I'd follow and see if it was anything big. There's also the fact that you dragged Jaime away while I was still talking to him." The Kryptonian gave an agitated grunt in response but said nothing as he continued forward. Danny let out a sigh. "Okay look, I know you don't like me. I get it, but I'm not exactly the plague alright? We didn't meet on the best of terms but I'm not the enemy here."

Conner took a moment before responding in a slightly less aggressive way. "Fine, but follow my lead." After the truck stopped the Cycle floated quietly as Conner watched with his inferred vision. He then turned to Blu. "Can you scan that case?"

Though it was bit sudden he complied. "Oh.. yeah, sure." He held out his arm which morphed into a sort of scanner like device. Danny watched in intrigue as Blu became extremely quiet for a moment. He then let out a sigh and held the device up. "Not compatible again? What does that even mean!?"

Conner then turned back to him. "What do you mean? Who are you even talking too?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah, you've got me worrying about you man, and no offense, but it makes you sound crazy."

Jaime let out a deep sigh before pointing behind himself. "It's the Scarab, the thing stuck to my spine; gives me the armor, the powers. It's an artificial intelligence created by Ted Kord, you know, the previous Blue Beetle."

Conner gave a nod. "Yeah, I knew him."

"So I hear, guess he was a super genius or something. Captain Atom figures the Scarub was Kord's ultimate invention, but the Light killed him before he had a chance to use it. The Scarub advises me….. think Jiminy Cricket, with a really bad attitude. It can't scan the brief case for some reason."

Danny gave a shrug and leaned forward. "Nothing's perfect. Whatever's inside is probably nothing good anyway, especially if they try so hard to keep out prying eyes."

"Can it scan the hall?" Super Boy questioned. "Ugly may be about to launch an attack on whoever's inside, and it's shielded from my inferred vision."

"Scan complete. Hall's deserted." Blu stated as he deactivated the scanner.

"Then what could they want in there? It doesn't actually have anything important in it besides those trophies for the league right?"

"That's right." Conner responded to the halfa. "So what….." He glared down as he watched Ugly open the case.

"What is that?" The Super Cycle answered Blu's question with a roar of its engine.

"I don't know, but judging how Sphere's reacting, I bet its Apocolyptan."

"Meaning?" Both Danny and Blu asked at the same time.

"Bad news, now come on." As the cycle moved in, Ugly pulled out the machine and a sort of energy wave started to pulse out.

Jaime immediately grabbed his head in pain and Danny couldn't shake the immense feeling of dread it gave him. It was like nothing he'd ever felt. He turned to Blue Beetle. "You okay?!"

Danny followed Super Boy and Wolf in jumping out of the cycle. "Game's over Ugly. Time to hand over the device."

"Yeah and with a name like Ugly, I can only imagine how much more ugly it could get when you refuse." Danny quipped as he floated behind his Kryptonian ally.

Ugly gave a chuckle as he responded. "Funny, but you're only half right, the game is over."

Wolf growled as the wall of the Hall started to crumble and crack. "….. not good." Danny watched, with his smirk falling, as a giant mix matched monster broke through the wall.

As soon as it was through, Ugly pressed a few buttons on the device and gave his order. "Attack." The creature wasted no time as it swung down its stony arm at Conner who dodged with a jump. He latched onto it and jumped up, followed by a crushing punch to what could be assumed as the head. Danny flew around behind it and tried to knock it over with a blast of his Ghost Ray before it flailed its arm back at him.

Wolf was next to charge as it jumped and took a large chuck of the wood on its leg. Super Boy took his chance and boxed the same leg hoping to get it down. The three of them continued to get it with hit after hit, but it was apparently healing itself as it went, making things very difficult. "What is that thing!" Blu yelled from the cycle.

"It doesn't look friendly does it? Come on Blu!"

After he seemed to grumble to himself, he flew up and raised his weapon. "Okay, that I get."

"Blu NO!" Super Boy shouted.

Danny took the warning and became intangible as Blu shot off a sonic blast at the giant. It didn't take long for the wave to reflect back and knock all but the halfa back. He was able to catch Blu as he dropped down like a rock. "I gotcha." He then turned to Super Boy. "You oaky?"

"Yeah…." He grumbled from the ground before going silent.

Before he could even react, the apalaxian golem stomped down on the super teens. "They're down, can we kill them?"

Ugly shook his head. "Eh, trying to kill a Kryptonian can be… time consuming. The league will be here any second. Let's just get gone." He adjusted a few things on the panel and the golem let out a contorted roar before forming two large wings on its back. It stepped off of Danny and Blu Beetle to scoop up both Ugly and his lieutenant, then flew off.

* * *

Danny was now rubbing at one of his ears as he sat beside Blu in the cycle. "Even when I'm intangible…. Geez, I'm sure glad I didn't do what I was planning to do."

Jaime let out a sigh and then turned to Super Boy. "How are your ears?"

"FINE!" Realizing he was a bit loud he adjusted his tone. "Fine, but what were you thinking using sonics against an Apalaxian?"

"Is that what that thing was? Well… it explains the whole sound thing then." The halfa then let out a sigh and sat back.

Blu looked at Danny with a raised brow and then turned back to Conner. "Dude, I never even heard of an Apil…laxative before tonight."

Danny sat up and gave him a confused look. "They were the Justice League's first trophies man, why don't you know this?"

Conner let out a sigh. "At least one of you freshmen did the homework. Haven't you read the case file on the League's first mission? Haven't you taken the guided tour of the Hall?"

Blu responded in a questioning manner. "Those are rhetorical questions right?"

Danny then raised his hand. "For the record, I didn't do either."

With a sigh, Super Boy went on to explain the Apalaxians and their importance in the League's formation. By the time he was done Blu was sporting an expression of surprise. "Oh… and so they stuffed them in the hall as trophies?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah, but what was up with that one? It doesn't really look like any of them, but….. a fusion of all four somehow."

Conner brought his hand to his chin. "Ugly's device must have reanimated the husks, and combined them somehow, into a creature he could control."

Danny furrowed his brow. "What does he want with that thing though? If he's running some kind of weapons smuggling business, isn't that just a bit too….. noticeable? I mean it probably makes a great weapon no offense…."

"Whatever he wants with it, we need to find it. Sphere's tracking the devices Apacolyptan energy readings. We're closing in."

* * *

Feb. 13 – Arlington

"With this thing as my enforcer, I can expand Intergang's territory exponentially." Ugly said with a grin. He was interrupted by a shrill whistle and looked to the sky. "Wow, five syllables? I didn't think you knew any words with more than two." Super Boy quipped from a top Sphere. Danny floated just above him just trying to keep a straight face.

"Hilarious, but we'll see who's laughing when I –"

"New Genesphere, jam all Apocalyptan frequencies in the area." With a glow the Super Cycle reacted and the machine in Ugly's hand soon sparked up and fried.

"Neat trick." Danny commented as he pointed at the fried device.

The golem then moved and crushed it with one swift step causing Ugly to jerk back. "Uh-oh….." With a swing of its arm it knocked the two of them back and then turned its gaze on the young heroes. With both arms, it slammed down Sphere and dropped down into the snow causing a shockwave.

Super Boy braced against a tree as Wulf made a charge and bit at one of the wooden roots of the monster's arm. As Super Boy made a jump he was knocked back while Wolf was thrown off. Danny was once again trying his ghost ray's effectiveness against the beast, but it seemed to do absolutely no damage this time. He dodged just in time for Blu to dive at it with his armor in the form of a sort of battering ram, but he bounced right off the enraged creature. "Does nothing hurt this thing?" Danny whined as he dodged the golem's flailing arms.

On the ground Blu was picking himself back up off the ground while arguing with the Scarab. "Porfavor! I'm trying to-" He was interrupted when the golem stomped him into the ground.

"Really bad time for an internal argument Blu!" Danny yelled as he was being shaken from the creature's head. When he was finally removed, he fell hard into a pile of snow and the creature turned away. As Danny sat up while rubbing his head a bit he noticed the monster and the Nuclear Reactor in its line of sight. "Uh-oh….. that can't be good…." He flew up and quickly got a good view of the battle field. Super Boy and Blue Beetle seemed out along with the two Intergangers. He took a few glances back and forth. "I'm going to go out on a limb here guys and say you're fine. I really need to go after that thing!" With only a second's hesitance more he dashed after it as fast as his ghostly tail could take him.

As he caught up to the creature just in front of the plant, he saw the guards seemed to be engaged in a fruitless firing match with it. "Out of the way!" He shouted as he slammed it with all his built up momentum. It fell to the ground and thankfully the people were able to stay out of its falling path due to the halfa's warning. It was quick to get up though and seemed adamant about getting to the reactors. "Oh no you don't!" Danny yelled as he flew down at its legs.

He held out his glowing blue hands and froze the two of them together in an attempt to halt the creature's advance. It took several swipes at the ice Danny was trying so hard to build up and neither of them seemed to be getting very far. After swiping at Danny and breaking his concentration, it busted out of it's icy shackles and flew up towards the reactor. Danny flew after it in protest but was surprised when it was blasted back by fire from the New Genesphere. "Hey! About time!"

"Deploy, we can't let it reach the reactor!" Super Boy shouted as he jumped out of the Cycle followed by Wolf and Blu. He jumped and tackled the golem causing it to shuffle back and was quickly followed up by Danny, and then Blu swiped down one of it's feet causing it to finally fall back. Sphere slammed it back down when it tried to recover. It was then that Conner and Wolf dashed onto the beast and held down its arms. "Hold it down!" He then jumped to a different part of its arm. "Lock it down!"

Both Danny and Blu complied. "Got it!" "Yeah, workin on it!" Danny used his ice to try and freeze the lower half while Jaime used his Blue staples to pin down the rest.

Super Boy then turned to Sphere. "Sphere, pill bug mode. Try and take control of it!" Just as it made a jump for the head it was knocked away and the golem was breaking out of it's bonds.

Danny then rubbed his chin as he dodged its flailing arm. "You know, that's a pretty good idea." He then became intangible and phased into the creature. It flailed around wildly while pulling away at the staples still lodged in its body. It grabbed at it's head area as it shuffled around and after a few minutes Danny came flying out and hit the ground hard.

Blu watched as he slid a bit and seemed to fall unconscious. "I don't suppose we could just ask it to play nice?" "_Such a tactic would betray weakness!"_ The scarab responded with a venomous tone. "Wait… you mean it's possible?"

Danny wakes up just in time to see Blue Beetle in some sort of trance as he talks about the unnatural movement and noise of the elements. "All this life is, is pain. We sense the energy here is enough to destroy us, to end the pain."

Super Boy seemed sympathetic as he responded. "I can relate….."

"So can I…" Danny groaned out as he approached them rubbing his head. "I got a really good dose of it when I tried to overshadow it."

Super Boy then turned to the creature. "But we can help you, we will help you." Before he could say anything more another sonic pulse seemed to come out of nowhere and started blasting the creature apart.

Both Conner and Wolf seemed to be in pain from the noise while Danny tried to get a read on the source. "What the?" Blue Beetle was hit with the recoil of the sonic attack and was blasted back when the golem exploded. Super Boy caught him as he fell. As Danny shielded his eyes from the debris he scanned the area for the shadow he glimpsed before the explosion but found nothing. Super Boy, while holding Blu, took up looking too, but was equally unsuccessful. "Looks like whoever it was, hightailed it already." Danny stated as he flew down to his teammates. "How's Blu?"

"I don't know who you guys are but you took that thing down! Probably saved the whole east coast!" Danny gave the man a lamenting smile as he turned back to his fallen comrade.

He seemed to stir and opened his eyes. "It was alive…." He reached on arm up to grasp at the falling embers. "And now its gone…." He then turned his gaze at each of his friends. "Who attacked? Who killed it?"

Super Boy glared off towards the forest. "Someone Ugly."

Danny raised a hand to his chin. "I…. I don't think so." His quiet deduction didn't seem to reach the Kryptonian as he stood up with Blu and charged for the forest. As they went Danny continued to be lost in his own thoughts about the mysterious shadow. He just didn't believe it was those two from earlier….. it gave him a weird feeling.

"They should still be pinned where I left them." Blu stated as he lead the way.

"And I'm telling you they're long... gone?" Super Boy almost questioned as they reached the top of the hill to see Ugly and Whisper still pinned to the trees. Danny flew over quickly and saw the blank expressions they wore.

Blue Beetle brought up his scanner and pointed it their way. "They're alive, breathing, steady heart beats." Super Boy walked up with curiosity. "But non responsive." Blu finished as he watched Conner snap his fingers in their faces.

"Stop me if I sound crazy, but I don't think anyone's home." Danny concurred as he waved his hand before them. He then decided to try his luck again with his overshadowing ability and jumped into Ugly. Conner raised his brow at the gesture as he saw the man jump to life. "Whoa…. This guy is…."

"What's up ese?"

Danny turned his way. "I didn't meet any resistance. It's like his mind is a total blank."

* * *

"As requested, Ugly and Whisper are now a living warning for anyone else straying from the path of the Light, but why blow up gruesome? Seems like a wasted resource." Sports Master asked as he walked over to the shadowy figure.

They responded with a cold and calculating voice. "A resource falling into enemy hands, is a resource best disposed of."

The blonde man let out a laugh. "Partner, I like the way you think."

"Yes, and speaking of resources, it seems that other one may prove to far more useful than I initially calculated." The stranger said with a cold laugh which was mimicked by Sports Master.

* * *

Feb. 13 – Mt. Justice

It was almost midnight as Super Boy and his team arrive back at the base and Jaime stretched as he jumped out of the Cycle. He still seemed a bit depressed by the destruction of the Golem and Danny placed a hand on his shoulder. "There wasn't anything you could do. Whoever destroyed it, did it with one shot."

Jaime gave a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, I know but….. I just can't help feeling sad for it."

Super Boy approached with his arms crossed. "Even though I know it wasn't right, it got what it wanted. It's at rest now."

"Yeah dude." Danny concurred.

Jaime gave a weak nod as he headed out of the hanger. "Yeah alright…. Well I'm going home, see you later ese."

Danny watched him with sympathetic eyes. Being powerless to stop something is all too familiar a feeling for him in way too many ways. He gave a lite shake of his head as he turned and noticed Conner watching him. "Uh… yes?"

The Kryptonian gave a nod as he glanced away. "You uh… you did good Phantom."

Danny raised a brow. "...Thanks?"

Conner rubbed the back of his head before turning back to the halfa. "Alright, you had a point earlier. We didn't get off on the right foot, and I didn't really give you a chance." He then held out a hand to Danny.

He gave it a wary glance before taking the gesture. "Cool, I appreciate that Super Boy." He then furrowed his brow and raised a hand to his chin. "By the way, about earlier. You remember when the golem was first destroyed?" He gave a serious nod. "Even back then I didn't think those two from earlier were behind it. When we founded them pinned to the trees it only made me more sure."

Conner raised a brow at him. "What are you getting at?"

"I saw a shadow right before the golem was destroyed, only one shadow. It was hard to get any detail from the distance and it was only for a moment but I could tell it wasn't Ugly or Whisper. I caught the shine from it's eyes and it gave me this really bad feeling, though I can't quite place my finger on it; it reminds me of something."

* * *

**CUT! Alright, so like I said, it has the scenes from "Salvage". Now you may have noticed the play by play was almost the same as the episode only I added Danny, but the story will slowly deviate as Danny has more and more of an impact on how things go. Also, this chapter was a good chance for Danny and Conner to clear the air from their hilarious miscommunication.=^-^=**

**Well anyway, as always a reveiw will be most appreciated!=^-^=**


	6. Chapter 6 - Missing

**OMG a new chapter? Already? Readers I think I may have been replaced with a clone who has a better work ethic! Anyway, I've been on a roll with this one as of late. This chapter includes small portions of Beneath but consists of mostly scenes from Bloodlines. Of course theire is new content too. Enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 6 - Missing**

* * *

Feb. 19 – Mt. Justice

"Where is it?" Danny groaned as he looked over the table and through the many random papers on his work table. He pilled some together and placed them on the corner of the desk. He pulled out one of the drawers and dumped the contents out on the top. "Damn it…." He furrowed his brow as he thought over where he'd seen it last. "I just had it yesterday….. what did I do with it?"

"What are you looking for Danny?" He turned to see Gar walking through his halfway open door.

"I'm looking for that little scanner attachment I was working on yesterday. You know, the one that looks like an L?"

"The computer chip thing? No…. don't you normally keep that stuff inside the drawers?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah, but I was tired last night so I just set it on the shelf here."

Beast Boy winched in response. "Oh then….. I think Cujo has it….. you know how he is with stuff out in the open."

Danny smacked his forehead in dread. "I really hope not…." He then gave an exasperated whistle to call the dog and was a bit surprised to hear the bark come from behind him. They both turned to see the pup panting along with the piece sitting just in front of him. "Aww…. Cujo!" The dog turned his head in confusion before picking the piece back up and leaning in a playful stance. Danny was careful not to make any sudden moves as he slowly approached the dog. "Alright Beast Boy, just be careful. If he runs off now, chances are we'll never find him until he wants to be found."

"Noted." The changeling responded as he made a slow approach to the dog as well. Gar was the first to dive for the dog but was easily out maneuvered.

Danny, however, was able to catch him on the rebound and had him pinned to the floor. "Alright Cujo, give!" The ghost was happy to do so once Danny started to rub his belly and he shook his leg in delight. "Good boy Cujo!" Danny was quick to pick up the piece and was a bit disgusted when he felt the slobber left on it. "Remind me to never get lazy about putting stuff away." He told Gar as he phased the slobber off and looked it over for damage. He was happy it didn't seem to be broken in anyway and headed back over to the table to pick up the papers from earlier. "Glad I didn't have to start over again." He then turned back to the green teen. "So what's up?"

Gar shrugged in response. "Nothing really. I was hoping Jaime was going to come and hang but he had to study for some test. Are you doing anything right now?"

Danny held the papers under his arm and headed out of his room with Gar right behind him. "Well, I need to give these to Nightwing, and after that I have to take Cujo out for his walk. You want to come with?"

"Sure." He responded with enthusiasm. "Sounds like a plan." He then continued to follow him until they reached the com room where Nightwing was briefing Apha squad on their mission.

"We have conformation that Biyalia's psychic enforcer is still catatonic in a Quaroki hospital…. After his last encounter with you. Biyalia's dictator, however, is another story. Her ability to control the minds of men is why Alpha is an all-female squad for this mission."

"Uh-oh." The vigilante gave a slight turn to see Danny and Gar standing right next to him, with the halfa wearing a cautious expression.

When he looked back at the screen, Batgirl wore as smirk as she questioned him. "Oh really? And would you have felt the need to justify an all-male squad for a given mission?"

Nightwing took a moment to clear his throat. "There's no right answer for that… is there?... so…. Nightwing out." Both Danny and Gar were stifling their laughter as Nightwing turned to them.

"You dug yourself into that one man."

Nightwing wore an amused smirk as he raised a brow. "Funny was it?"

"Hilarious." Danny bluntly stated. "I saw it coming from a mile away." He then calmed his laughter and held up the papers with the chip on top. "Anyway, I came in here to give you this. It should be able to find any ghost within a 10 mile range, though it requires specific energy inputs and high range components. I'm sure you can find something it can be adapted to. The first page will give you the listing."

He seemed surprised as looked over the data. "You sure finished that fast." Danny gave a nod. "It helps to know a guy who can turn an mp3 player into a holographic projector. Anyway, let me know if you need anything else." He then strolled off towards the hangar.

* * *

Feb. 20 - Mt. Justice

Danny was sleeping rather soundly in his own room before his phone started ringing. He tried to just let it go, but it wouldn't stop and so he eventually broke down and answered it. He saw the caller ID and answered with an aggravated tone. "I'm on the East Coast, do you have any idea what time it is here?"

He then let out a yawn as Tucker started. "_Alright dude I get it, but I can't seem to get in touch with Sam."_

Danny raised a curious brow. "You sure her parents aren't intercepting her calls again?"

"_I hope that's all it is, but I just have a really bad feeling dude. Have you even talked to her since she got out of the hospital?"_ Danny remained quiet and wore a somber expression. "_Thought so. It would explain why she hates it when I bring you up on the phone. You know you two need to work out this issue you have."_

"We don't have an issue Tuck." Danny vehemently denied.

"_Yeah, and I don't wear a red barre. Anyway, you need to at least call her. She is worried about you, I could tell even though she was yelling."_

Danny gave a subconscious nod as he answered. "I know I just…"

"_I know dude alright, but you can't hold this over your head forever. Sam is fine, and you two really need to talk!"_

Danny let out a grumble. "Alright…. I'll try her in the morning, happy?"

"_Yeah, and you better try more than once too!"_

"Alright!... can I go back to sleep now?" He whined as he yawned into the phone.

"_Alright, but don't you forget or you're on your own on your next tech project."_

"Fine, goodnight Tucker." He then hung up the phone and slammed it onto the table. "All the way across the country and he still finds a way to nag me about Sam… geez…" He then flopped down on his pillow and welcomed the sweet embrace of sleep. As he waited, however, the embrace didn't seem to come and so he sat up in the bed. "Damn it….. now I can't sleep. Thanks Tuck." He stretched a bit and the morphed into his ghostly alter ego. "Nothing says get tired like laps around the town." He spent the next 20 minutes doing just that and hopefully burning away his newfound insomnia. When he arrived back at the base he saw Nightwing debriefing Alpha squad in the main room. "Wonder what's up?" He muttered to himself as he watched from afar.

"Questions keep the investigation moving forward. You saved lives and got each other home safe. It's a successful mission in my book." He stated as he stood before the disheartened Wonder Girl. "Good work Alpha." Bat Girl then grabbed Wonder Girl and the others surrounded her with reassuring expressions. As Nightwing walked back over to the computer panel he noticed Danny watching. "What are you still doing up?"

Danny scratched the back of his head as he responded. "I wasn't but I got woken up earlier. Anyway, how'd the mission go?"

Nightwing started to enter in some data. "Over all it went well, but they brought a disturbing bit of news. Apparently the Bialyians were kidnapping kids, most of them being runaways, but not for the Kroloteans like we thought."

"Then who?" Danny questioned.

"We're not sure except that they're partnered with the Light."

Danny took a moment to think about it before he cringed at his own thoughts. "What could they want with them? All the things I can think of are…. Weird." He then tried to shake the images from his mind and head back to his room. "Good luck trying figure it out. I'm going back to sleep." Nightwing waved him off silently while still keeping his attention on the screen. Danny couldn't help wondering a bit more about it though, as he strolled back to his room. What could the Light, or their partner want with a bunch of kids?

* * *

Feb. 28 – Mt. Justice

"Decryption, completed. Translation, completed." The computer alerted as Nightwing continued at the controls. Robin and Beast Boy were just heading over when it made its announcement. "Is that the Krolotean intel?" Robin asked his predecessor.

Beast Boy turned to him in confusion. "What Krolotean intel?"

Nightwing responded as he kept his concentration on the interface. "The data files M'gann and J'onn recovered on Malina island before it was destroyed."

"Ah! Noted." Gar responded with one finger raised in understanding.

"Apparently, the Kroloteans were snatching humans to use as Ginny pigs. They were hoping to find something….. something inside us."

"What?"

"There's… no English word for it. The closest translation is… Meta-gene."

"What's a Meta-gene?" Robin asked as he turned his head slightly.

"Never met-a-gene I didn't like!" Beast Boy joked while jabbing Robin in the side.

"You think it might be an actual gene?" The three of them were surprised at the new voice and searched around till they found their eyes on the ceiling. Danny was looking at them from above as he stood on the roof like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Nightwing's initial surprise faded fast as he questioned the halfa. "What do you mean an actual gene?"

He jumped and floated down to land on the floor. "I mean like a living gene, you know like genetics? You did say Meta-GENE right?" Nightwing gave a contemplating nod before an alarm sounded through the base. "Unknown energy impulse detected!" The computer alerted and the heroes quickly started to look around for what had sparked the alarm. Nightwing noticed the energy ball first which started out as a small blue light, then quickly expanded out until a shape could be seen within it. "Okay…. New." Danny commented as he stood in surprise with the others.

Once the blue light started to fade the object inside became more corporeal and Nightwing readied his weapons. "Stand ready." He ordered as the other three complied. Needless to say, when the door opened and the smoke bellowed out, no one expected the oddly dressed teen to just jump out with a simple Ta-da.

Beast Boy turned to Nightwing with a raised brow. "Well, I think we found our unknown energy impulse."

"You think?" Danny quipped sarcastically as he floated with his arms crossed.

"Impulse? That's so crash! Catchy, dramatic, one-word…" He then moved over to each hero respectively as he named them. "Like Nightwing, and Robin, and Beast Boy….. except that's two words." He raised a finger to his temple. "Blue Beetle's two words." He then looked excited as he continued. "Hey! Is he here too? Nevermind." He said as he dashed off for the hall. "Impulse can find that out for himself!"

The minute he turned around to dash off he was cut off by Danny who had floated up and into his path while he was talking. "Hi." Impulse certainly looked surprised and almost jumped back, but the surprise quickly flew away as he circled him a bit. "Cool, Phantom." He turned to the other and pointed at the unamused halfa. "Phantom, also one word. This is crash!" He then turned back without awaiting a response. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be in Amity Park? Heard it was nice there. Sign my comic book?" He asked as he shoved it in his face. He then seemed to have an epiphany as he dashed around him. "Oh right, gonna look for Blue Beetle, see ya!"

Danny held the comic in his hands as he turned his head towards the remnant blur that was Impulse. "Okay….. maybe more weird than new."

"You two, take him down." Nightwing ordered as he pointed to Robin and Beast Boy. They jumped into action with Gar taking the form of a cheetah.

Danny then slowly made his way over to Nightwing. "I trust you have more of a plan?" He asked as he took a good look at the tattered comic in his hand.

"You actually have doubts? Why don't you go ahead and sign that?" He responded as he held out a pen to the confused halfa.

"Okay?" A few minutes later, Impulse came rushing through the room where Danny was quick to get his attention. "You want this back?" He taunted as he held the comic out. The effect was immediate as Impulse made a bee line for Phantom and was quickly knocked out by Nightwing while he was distracted.

He wasted no time in cuffing both his arms and legs and stood up with a stern look on his face. "Now that was crash."

"Crash for you maybe." Impulse whined from the floor. "Me? I'm totally feeling the mode."

* * *

Danny, Beast Boy and Robin all stood in front of the bound Impulse as they tried to understand what he was talking about. "You're a tourist…. From the future?" Danny crossed his arms as he let out a sigh. "Okay, I'm so not touching that subject."

Impulse gave an optimistic nudge. "Why so surprised? Half the meat at comic-con are from my era." Robin gave the boy a critical gaze as Danny took to looking over the comic book he still had in his position. "Oh crash! You so signed it!" Impulse pointed out as he eyed the cover. "That's a reprinting of issue no. 21 'Reign Storm', rarest reprint of the set." Danny raised a brow as he scrutinized the cover. Impulse then looked over all their expressions of disbelief and decided to try again. "Look, look, look, guys, we should all be friends! I'm really one of you. Part of the heroic legacy right? My name's Bart Allen, you know, grandson of Barry Allen, the Flash."

Beast Boy wore an amused expression. "Noted, not believed, but noted."

"What's not to believe!? I've clearly got flash's speed, his amazing good looks, frankly, I can't wait to meet him!" Bart's egger expression contorted a moment as he continued. "Uh, you know, back when he was in his prime."

Nightwing then came back into the room holding a cup of water. Danny, who had moved over to the proposed time machine followed him back over to the others. "Well Bart, coming all the way from the future. You must have worked up quite a thirst."

He held it out for him and the speedster took it happily. "Thanks." After a few gulps he stop. "Oh, ah! You're trying to get a DNA sample; you need my spit." He then promptly spit into the cup for Nightwing's convenience. "Ha! That's such a Dick Greyson thing to do."

Robin looked over to the older team member. "How did….?"

"See? I know stuff only a future boy would know. Dick Greyson, Tim Drake, Garfield Logan"

Beast Boy turned to Robin with a questioning expression. "Your name's Tim?"

Danny was quick to note he was left out of the reveal, but turned to Dick in curiosity. "And your name is Dick?" He asked as he gave Beast Boy a passing glance.

"Opps. Spoilers." Bart started with a guilty expression. "This secret identity thing is so retro, I mean, you can call me Impulse, or Bart, or Bart Allen, or Bart Impulse Allen, it's all crash."

Robin then turned his questioning gaze to their leader. "Is it possible he's telling the truth? Could he really be from the future?"

Beast Boy then looked Bart in the eye. "Then tell us something we don't know… yet."

"I wouldn't Beast boy. You'll more likely come to regret it." Danny warned.

"Sorry BB, never was the best history student, besides Phantom's right, we can't risk altering the time stream. We do that and we're all feeling the mode."

"And the mode would be… bad?"

Impulse gave a nod. "Couldn't get any worse. Always better to crash the mode."

Gar seemed rather unsure as he responded. "Uh… noted?"

"Recognized Malcom Duncan A-10" The computer announced rather suddenly.

"Oh! Sounds like a door opening somewhere. Annnnnd, that's my cue!" On that note he found his way out of the cuffs Nightwing had placed on him and dashed out before anyone could really register what had happened. "Hi Mal! Bye Mal!" He shouted as he passed the clueless man on his motorcycle.

Beast Boy then took on a look of confidence as he turned to the door. "Don't worry, the Peregrine falcon is the world's fastest bird! He won't get far!"

Danny gave the others a look of disbelief. "Is he serious?"

"Does he even stand a chance?" Robin added in.

"No." Responded Nightwing in a confident tone. "But at least we can track him."

"You planted a tracer? Won't it fall at his speed?"

"I'm a little more interested in when you had time to place one." Danny commented as he watched the screen beside Robin.

"Actually he drank it."

Robin then held the glass of water up. "Subcontainious micro-tracker in the water, nice."

"Thanks, he's making a B-line for Central City." He then picked up his phone and started dialing.

Danny gave him a look before turning to Robin. "Remind me to never get on his hit list….. ever."

"You and me both Phantom." Robin agreed with a knowing grin.

As soon as Nightwing got off the phone he started to set up the DNA analysis. "Now to see if he's really who he says he is."

Danny made a motion to get Dick's attention. "Uh actually, I think he's telling the truth."

He raised a brow without turning from the screen. "Well, I'm just looking for some solid evidence to corroborate his story."

Danny pointed over to the time machine. "I got all the evidence I needed from the time machine he came in."

The vigilante finally turned his way. "What kind of evidence are you talking about?"

Danny walked over it and both Robin and Nightwing followed suit. "If you look to the right of the door near the bottom you should see it."

Nightwing kneeled down and leaned against the dark metal side. It only took him a moment to notice something seemed to be carved into the side. "C…..W?"

They were crudely scratched out and overlaid in a familiar pattern. "Yeah, Clockwork tagged the time machine. I take that as the kid having permission to go time traveling."

Dick thought for a moment on where he'd heard the name before and turned to the halfa. "Wasn't CW brought up by Dr. Fate? So his name is Clockwork? Just who is he?"

Danny rubbed his chin a bit thinking over just how much he should say. "Well he's sort of the guardian of time and watches over the time stream. If he wants you to know any more then he'll come find you."

He remembers a very similar answer coming from Dr. Fate though Danny at least gave him some information to go on. "Well, regardless of whether he has permission or not, we still need to confirm his identity."

* * *

Later that night Impulse returned to Mt. Justice with the three other speedsters as Nightwing goes over the DNA analysis. "Impulse's DNA matches up with both Iris' and you Barry. This is also giving off both Zeta and Chronotron radiation."

"Which is, at least in theory, what you'd expect radiating off a time machine." Kid Flash continued for him.

"I don't understand why you all need so much proof, theoretical or otherwise. I mean this is a pretty crazy set up for some kind of villainous plot don't you think?" Danny pointed out as he floated on the other side of the machine.

Kid Flash gave him a pointed glare. "Having scientific evidence is the surest way to prove fact, and I really don't need that kind of criticism coming from a supposed ghost."

Danny furrowed his brow. "Well first of all, I'm only half ghost." He explained as he gestured to himself. He then flew over to the scientific follower with his ghostly tail out. "And second, Boo!" He teased as he leaned on one floating arm.

KF gave him an unamused expression. "I'll stick to the facts if you don't mind." He then turned back to the other speedsters.

"Geez, what do I have to do? Disembody my own head?"

"Whoa! Can you actually do that!?" Beast Boy questioned with a glow in his eyes.

Flash then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Anyway all that means you're exactly who you say you are."

"I told you. Anyway, its been crash, but the future awaits and I gotta run!" He gave a laugh to his own joke. "Get it? Run. See what I did there? That one was for you gramps."

Flash approached Impulse as he was about to enter the machine. "Bart, thanks for coming. I look forward to meeting you again for the first time, and watching you grow up."

"That will be crash." Bart responded as he hugged his grandfather. He then parted and jumped back into the machine. "So long!"

Danny gave a chuckle as the others waited for the machine to do something. Gar then decided it was his duty to see what was so funny and so he looked up at Danny who was floating nonchalantly in the air. "Okay, what's so funny?"

"I bet you ten bucks nothing happens."

Gar looked at the, still unmoving, machine and then back to Danny. "What makes you say that?"

Danny raised two fingers. "Well one, he forgot his 'rare' comic book." He said with quotes. "And two, Clockwork doesn't just let people travel through time for the entertainment value….. usually anyway." He added the last part with a grumble. "I'm still questioning the whole Salem Massachusetts thing."

Gar scratched his head and looked back at the machine. "Maybe he's traveling to the future one second at a time?"

After about a minute more Impulse busted through the door. "It's not working!" He got out and kicked the useless machine. "The whole thing's fried!"

Flash approached. "Can you fix it?"

"I'm a tourist, not a chronal expert." He responded as if it was obvious. "Look at me! I'm trapped in the stupide past!" He made dramatic gestures with his arms as he continued with a sigh. "I'm so moded."

* * *

Mar. 1 – Mt. Justice

Danny seemed to be hard at work on another project in his room. The flash of his ghost ray, which he was using as a wielding gun, flickered off the lab goggles as he went. "Okay…." He stopped and pulled up the goggles as he looked over a portion of what appeared to be a large metal ring. He then reached for a small metal panel and placed it over a few wires that were exposed on the side. A soft click was heard as the piece found its place. "I really hope that fixed it….."

As he leaned the project against the wall he heard a whimper behind him. He turned to see a very restless Cujo as he pawed at the door. "Hmm… you gotta go out?" he looked at the clock and gave the pup a nod. "It has been awhile so I guess now's as good a time as any to get some air." Cujo panted happily as he followed his master through the wall.

* * *

"Okay so you wanted to meet Blue Beetle right?" Gar asked Impulse as he stood inside the com center of the cave. He then faced him towards the Zeta tubes as it announced the teen's arrival. "Here you go."

Jaime seemed a bit confused as he looked at Gar with another boy he'd never seen before. "So… is this who you were talking about ese?"

Bart was quick to get up his excitement. "So you're Blue Beetle? Crash!" He then zoom to stand behind his back. Jaime gave him a weird look as he went. "Even more Crash! You're a fan!" He stated as he pointed to the curled up comic book in his hoodie pocket. He pulled it out without asking and started to flip through it. "Oh, this is an old one."

Jaime took it back with an unhappy expression. "What are you talking about? This is the latest issue. It was just released last month."

"Kindred Spirits?" Gar said as he read the cover.

Jaime gave a nod. "I wanted to talk to Danny about it."

Garfield then turned to the hall. "Alright then let's go! He was in his room last time I checked; told me he was working on something important." The three of them then walked together and stopped just in front of Danny's room. Beast Boy knocked. "Hey Danny! You in there?" Silence was his answer as he looked at the door in curiosity. "Maybe he's gone out?"

Before he could say anything more, the door was open and Impulse was looking down the shelves. "Looks like your right BB."

"Hey!" The green teen protested. "You can't just run into someone's room like that." His statement fell on deaf ears as Impulse then started to look at several of the random pieces of tech strewn across the table in the back. Jaime found his interest on a large metal right leaning on the back wall despite the fact he agreed with Gar. The changeling let out a sigh as he followed them in.

"Oh, check this out!" Bart said as he picked up the ring.

"It kinda looks like a techno hula-hoop or something." Garfield noted as he watched Bart stand it up on the ground. When he let go, the ring stayed standing and a low whine was heard. "What the…." Two flaps fell from either side allowing the ring to remain standing and several green lights along the side lit up.

"Uh-oh….. I think you turned, whatever it is, on." Bart took a step back as the whine grew to a higher pitch before a green spark of energy appeared in the center. An energy pulse emanated from the ring as it expanded to be as tall as Jaime and the green energy expanded to match. After the brightness faded the three looked on at the swirl of green energy that sat within the device and Jaime felt a feeling of dread. "No Bueno….. turn it off ese!"

Before Bart could do anything, however, the ring started to shake rather violently and a large creature seemed to shoot out of the center. Beast Boy and Jaime split in order to get out of it's way and it landed in the hallway. The three heroes turned to see the large purple form start to move. "This can't be good." As the creature started to shuffle to its feet it shook its head in agitation. It turned a bared its glowing red eyes on the boys before growling.

It even seemed to grow as it spoke in an angry tone. "WHO….ARE YOU!" It bellowed as it held its arms high.

It roared at the boys before Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla and tackled the creature. "Good idea!" Blu concurred as he activated his armor. He held out his sonic blaster as the creature pressed against the raw might of the green ape. Impulse joined the party as he charged the creature but it thrashed the ape away and right into the speedster. Blu then blasted it, but it only seemed to anger the creature as it roared again

"GO AWAY!" It was quick to swat Blu to the ground and was about to swing down its claws before Impulse got his attention.

"Yo creepo! Over here!" He turned and pat his butt. "Can't catch me!" The large monster didn't think twice about taking the taunt as it turned and dashed for the speedster. It roared as Impulse continued forward in short bursts as to keep the beast interested. It smashed into several objects as it followed madly but it didn't seem to slow. Bart turned and saw it's unimpeded pursuit and gave a lit gulp. "Persistent…"

"I got it!" Blu shouted as he flew up behind it and tried to ram it to the ground.

The creature's eyes glowed with rage as it grabbed him midflight. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jaime yelled in distress as he was swung into the wall and then to the ground with the beast's monstrous strength.

With a bit more teasing Bart was able to get it's attention again and led it out into the main living area. "Heads up!" He shouted as to get the team's attention. Nightwing, and Super Boy were both talking as the leader was going over some mission specifics.

The two turned to see the boy being chased down by the large purple monster and instantly jumped into action. "What is that thing!?" Nightwing demanded as Impulse passed him.

"I'm not sure, but it seems pretty mad about something!" Bart responded as he stopped just behind the two older team mates.

The monster stopped just in front of them and looked to be seething with anger before roaring at them. He then swung down his arm as he shouted again. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Super Boy caught it's arm as it came down. "Leave you alone!? Why don't you leave us alone?!" He shouted as he took it and threw the creature at the far wall. The Kryptonian was less than amused as he saw Beast Boy and Blu exit the hall where the beast had come out.

"You get him?" Blu asked as he saw the creature remain unmoving against the wall.

"What's going on!" Nightwing demanded with his arms crossed.

Both Blu and Gar traded sheepish expressions before looking back at Impulse. "Well we were trying to find Danny, but when he wasn't in his room we kinda…."

"You went snooping." Super Boy continued for the green teen. The Krypyonian gave him an angry glance causing Bart to feel guilty. "Actually I'm the one who touched the weird metal ring it popped out of alright."

"We'll talk about this after we take care of this thing." Said Nightwing as he took back his defensive stance. The purple monster seemed to be getting up and it looked even madder than before. As soon as it regained its footing it charged at the Kryptonian, and as it roared it seemed to grow even bigger. This time it pushed Super Boy back upon impact as Conner grappled with its claws.

Nightwing jumped in next but he found out quickly that his eskrima stick could do little. He kept passing right through the creature much to his own frustration. "I think this thing is a ghost!" He shouted as he watched the grappling match between the two continue.

"That would make sense considering it came out of that weird portal thing." Beast Boy added in.

"The thing he shouldn't have messed with." Said Blu as he pointed to Impulse.

"How was I supposed to know?" Questioned the speedster in his defense.

"Not the time!" Super Boy grunted out as he was pushed back further. He swung to the side and caused the creature to fall but it quickly recovered and took a swipe at the kryptonian. "We need a plan. So far Super Boy seems to be the only one who can touch this thing."

"Well I could touch it at first, but when it started chasing Impulse I couldn't anymore." Beast Boy explain as he scratched at his head.

"What we need is Danny. He'd know exactly what to do with it." Blu informed as he stood by Nightwing ready to defend himself.

"You rang?" Came a voice from behind them. Danny stood floating and wearing an angry expression. "You can tell me where it came from after I take care of it." He then flew down and charged at the creature. It was no surprise that he was able to touch it and push it back with little effort.

He then blasted it back with his ghost ray and it cried out in pain. "NO! STOP IT!"

It glared at Danny as he floated in front of it with his hands lit up with green energy. "Stop? You're the one rampaging here."

The creature glared harder as it took a single step back. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Danny raised a brow as let the glow fade from his palms. "Alright, but you're going to have to calm down." He said as he made a slow approach. The opposing ghost bared its fangs in response. "It's alright. I don't want to hurt you. If you just calm down, I can get you back." All he got in response was a growl as the creature tensed at his approach.

"Why are you even trying to reason with it?" Super Boy asked as he watched with his arms crossed.

Danny held a finger up in his direction. "Just trust me alright. I know what I'm doing."

As he continued his slow approach the ghost began to grow anxious and charged at Danny. "NO!"

Danny was quick to blast him back and then held him to the floor on his back. "I want to help you, but you have to calm down! I don't want to hurt you but I will if you keep this up!" After a moment the ghost erratic panting calmed and Danny let go. "Better?" He questioned as he floated up. The purple creature sat up and let out a calming breath which was followed by him shrinking in size. "There you go." Danny said in approval as the creature continued to shrink smaller.

Eventually his skin turned blue and the horns dissolved in the head of a small boy. He let out a few sniffles as he rubbed his eye's while still keeping one on the halfa. The others looked on in astonishment at the small boy that was once a monster. Super Boy seemed the most surprised as his anger faded and his arms fell to his side. Danny held out his hand to the boy. "Now just come with me alright?" The ghost gave his hand a questioning look before looking back up at the halfa. After some slight hesitation at first he decided to take the hand and Danny stood up with the boy floating to keep in reach of his hand. Danny let out a sigh as he turned to the other team members. "I'm going to take him back okay? It should only take a few minutes."

* * *

"So which one of you turned it on?" The halfa asked as he stood before the rest of the team. He wore a stern expression as his eyes fell on the three youngest. After some reluctance, Bart lifted his hand. "Sorry…." Danny let out a sigh at the apology and then uncrossed his arms. "You're alright? Nothing happened?... aside from the ghost that is?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "No I think that was all….. why?"

"Well, you guys were playing with fire by turning on an interdimensional portal like that. You have to very careful during the initial activation. You should consider yourself lucky it didn't explode or something." He then re-crossed his arm as he gave them a stern expression. "I trust you guys are smart enough not to get curious again. Right?" He looked at Impulse near the end and they all nodded in response. "Good."

"What were you doing building something like that anyway?" Super Boy asked with a standard agitated expression.

"Well, I need access to the Ghost Zone, so I can keep tabs there."

"That thing could have killed someone!" Super Boy reiterated with a reprimanding tone.

Danny raised a brow in curiosity. "Who the kid? What are you talking about? He probably only charged you because he was scared of you, that's all." He then looked over to the three teens. "Chances are, these three somehow picked a fight to begin with. Am I right to say that one of you threw the first punch?"

The three boys looked between each other before they came to a consensus. "Now that I think about it…. Beast Boy tackled it before it actually did anything." Impulse pointed out.

Gar shrugged. "Yeah, but it looked like it was about to attack or something. What else was I supposed to do."

Danny waved it off. "It's fine Gar, that's a common mistake. You'll find that a lot of ghost out there are more bark than bite anyway. You're pretty lucky to get that little guy instead of one that would have eaten you or something. You'd probably feel confused and angry if you found yourself suddenly displaced like that"

Super Boy still seemed a bit mad about it but Nightwing stepped in to calm the tension. "It was contained, and that's what matters. Let's just try not to do it again." He stated as he looked over to the younger heroes.

"Yeah, Ghost is gone, everyone's fine, its all crash." "Well it would have been even more crash if you not snooped in the first place." A phone suddenly started ringing and Danny floated up. "Sorry, that's me." He answered as he phased through the roof for more privacy. "Tuck?"

"_Dude have you checked in with Sam!?"_

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I called her half a dozen times and got her voicemail every time." Tucker remain quiet for a moment causing Danny to feel uneasy. "Tuck? What's wrong?" He asked in a critical tone.

"_It's Sam….. her parents just declared her missing."_

* * *

**Well there you have it. I'm a bit annoyed by the last scenes with Impulse, Blu and Gar but I gave it my best and the ghost attack got done like I wanted. Do any of you recognize the ghost by any chance? He's from the DP universe. Anyway, so we got some major info this time around. Both Tucker and Sam are alive. (This was decided after ch. 3) I found it to be better for the flow of the story in the long run. Sorry if Impulse seemed strange at the end, but I'm still working on writing him so bare with me. **

**As always, feedback is loved. Also, if you see any mistakes or plot issues please let me know!=^-^=**


	7. Chapter 7 - Mission

**Man this took me awhile, but I got it. The beginning of this will be some fun stuff filled with some background I know ya'll have been waiting for. The end takes place during the episode Depths. Enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 7 - Mission**

* * *

Mar. 10 – Mt. Justice

Gar entered the main room to find Nightwing hard at work coordinating something that looked rather important. "Hey Nightwing, have you seen Danny around?" The changeling asked as he looked around the room.

He turned and gave a short response. "He told me he was taking a personal day."

Gar seemed disappointed as he sighed. "Aww man! Where'd he go without telling me?!" He asked the ceiling as he held his arms in the air.

Nightwing looked at the screen in interest as he answered again. "According to the Zeta tube log, he went to Boston so he's probably there to visit his sister."

Beast Boy turned to him in surprise. "Phantom has a sister?"

Before any further exchange could take place an alarm sounded through the building. "Unrecognized ectoplasmic signature detected!" The computer stated as a radar screen appeared on the monitor.

"What the heck?"

Nightwing pressed a few keys. "It's the ghost scanner Danny helped me modify. I guess it really works." The dot on the screen came closer and so Nightwing decided to take action. "Computer, initiate lock down!"

"What's going on Nightwing?" M'gann entered wondering what all the noise was about.

Beast Boy turned to her in obvious excitement. "Looks like we have a ghost sis!" The last one was pretty cool aside from the fact it attacked them, and so Gar had been wanting to see another one.

She raised her brow and turned to Nightwing who gave her a nod. By the time he turned back to the monitor the ghost seemed to be right on top of them and so the trio was on guard. "Keep on guard, you don't know where it could be!" He ordered as the three of them stood back to back. As the three of them waited for the inevitable appearance a low bark was heard and it seemed to be coming from the hanger.

"Is that Cujo? Or Wolf?" Beast Boy questioned as he looked towards the hall. His answer came when the large green hound came barreling through the wall though it seemed more excited than mad like they had expected. He looked around a moment before putting his nose to the ground and heading over past the three heroes. "You got a scent boy?" Asked Beast Boy as he ran over to the dog. Cujo barked in response as he headed down another hall with his tail wagging more and more by the minute. Nightwing and M'gann followed the green pair until Cujo lifted his head from the ground and charged at the air. A female cry was heard as the dog seemed to have something pinned to the ground. He then proceeded to lick whatever it was in delight which confused Beast Boy to no end. The giggling that soon followed was even stranger as he walked over to where the dog seemed to be licking the air. "Cujo?" The dog turned to him with his tongue still out and a happy expression.

"Opps… busted." Nightwing and Megan had just caught up when the voice came out of the air. Seconds later a young girl appeared just under Cujo's paws. "Get off Cujo!" She commanded as she squirmed under the hound's weight. Once the dog sat back she sat up and began wiping the drool off herself.

As soon as he got a good look at her, especially her white hair and outfit, Beast Boy pointed a questioning finger at her. "Phantom really does have a sister?"

* * *

Mar. 10 – Boston

Zeta tubes being located almost everywhere wasn't just some boast now. Danny thought as he exited what was supposed to be an empty alleyway. He had a lite bag on his shoulder as he turned the corner and blended in the crowd in human form. Harvard wasn't too far away from his location and his sister's workplace was even closer. A few minutes were all it took for the boy to come face to face with a certain bookstore and as soon as he opened the door he got recognized. "Danny!" He heard from his right as a young red head came up to hug him. "I've been worried about you." She said as she parted enough to look him in the eye. You haven't called in weeks Danny." She griped with a stern expression.

"I know." He responded unable to really look at her properly. "I just didn't want to get in your way."

She took his wrist and led him to a room behind the counter. "Hey, Rich, I only have 5 minutes left in my shift can I go ahead out?"

"Sure, we're not that busy!" She got in response as she continued to lead him to the back.

He quickly found himself in a small room with a fridge and a TV, which made it out to be some sort of break room. She then sat him down in one of the chairs before crossing her arms. "Now Danny, I need you to understand something. You will always be more important than school, jobs, or a career, understand!"

Danny turned away. "Jazz I-"

"No!" She cut him off and pointed a stern finger at him. "You need to get that through your head Danny. You're not a burden to me, I never thought of you that way, ever! Even when I was appointed your legal guardian, the only thing I thought about was you. You'll never be able to convince me otherwise, and that's why I didn't contest you being emancipated."

Danny swiped her hand away. "I know alright! You've told me a dozen times! You just don't understand alright! **I** didn't want to get in **your** way! It doesn't matter if you didn't care whether I did or not…. I cared."

Jazz now wore an expression of sympathy as she saw a tortured expression flash across his face. "Danny…. There's nothing-"

He then turned away again. "I didn't want to be the reason you lost something else good in your life! You got a full ride to Harvard Jazz, and I knew if it came down to it, you'd pick me over that without hesitating."

Jazz let out a mild sigh as she leaned down once again to hug her brother. "Alright…. I get it, but I…. I just want you to know, I'll always be there."

"Duh." He responded in a teasing fashion. "You're the clingiest sister on the planet."

She scruffed his hair in revenge and the grabbed a bag from off a chair. "Happy birthday little brother." She then headed over to the door. "I'm happy you decided to finally come visit. Dani's been getting restless and I was afraid I'd have to mail your present."

* * *

Mar. 10 – Mt. Justice

"So you're just like Phantom huh?" Beast Boy asked as he watched the ghost girl float nonchalantly in the air. She was scoping out the room again as she nodded. "Yeah, for the most part." She then turned to him in curiosity. "By the way, why are you green? Is it part of your powers or something?"

Gar took a passing glace at his arm as he responded. "Yeah, my name is Beast Boy and I can turn into any animal."

Nightwing then entered the room and approached to three. "Well?" Miss Martian asked.

"He said he'd be here in a few minutes. He had apparently just found out she had left to come here."

M'gann then looked over at the two young teens as they talked. "So she's really Phantom's cousin?"

Nightwing gave a nod. "Yeah, she apparently stays with his sister in Boston." He then gave a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm pretty relieved it wasn't another ghost having a tantrum like before."

"I guess." She responded as she sharpened her gaze on the girl. Nightwing turned and headed towards the Zeta tubes while Miss Martian watched over the two teens.

After a moment Dani suddenly jerked her head in M'gann's direction much to her surprise. "What?" She asked in slight curiosity. M'gann was takin a bit aback by the reaction. Its exactly what happened when she tried to pry into Danny's mind, and it unnerved her a bit.

She broke eye contact and faced towards the Zeta tubes which seemed to be activating. "Danny Phantom B-06" Dani, with her mental intruder gone, turned immediately to see her cousin standing in the tube. "Danny!" She cheered as she flew over to him as fast as she could. She had him in a hug even before he'd registered the scene in the cave.

"Danielle….." She looked up to see his unhappy expression. Her smile fell to a frown as she let him go. He crossed his arms as he started. "What are you doing here?"

"Aww come on Danny, I just wanted to see you. It's been soooooo long!"

She pleaded and Danny let out a sigh. "Okay, that I get, but do you have any idea how worried Jazz and I were when we got to the apartment and you weren't there. She called your school in a panic!"

She gave him an apologetic expression as she stumbled on her answer. "I didn't think it would take so long…"

Danny brushed his fingers through his hair as he sighed. "That's the problem, you didn't think before you acted. You remember what happened last time you did that right?" Dani didn't answer and nodded slowly. "Alright, good, now let's go back. I'm sure Jazz expects a better explanation for leaving like that." Dani gave a frown at the idea as she followed Danny as he turned back to the Zeta tubes. He turned his head a sec and gave the others an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that. I can explain more later if you'd like." And with that, Danny escorted his cousin back for a stern lecture from Jazz.

Beast Boy stood with Nightwing and his adopted sister with a confused look. He really didn't know what to say about it. The last strange relation he met was Bart aka Impulse and now Dani's cousin. He turned back towards the couch where he was talking with her earlier and saw the little bag she had. "Uh-oh!" He squeaked out. "Looks like Danielle forgot her stuff." He grabbed it by the straps and held it towards Nightwing. "Maybe we can give it to Danny when he gets back?" His handling of the bag was poor as it was upside-down and out spilled the contents. A student handbook, cell phone, hair tie and what appeared to be a wrapped present spilled onto the floor. "Opps….." Gar said as he looked down at the small mess he made.

"Be more careful with someone else's stuff Gar." Miss Martian reprimanded as she picked it all up with her telekinesis.

Beast Boy gave her a sheepish expression before grabbing it all out of the air and placing it all into the bag. The last thing he grabbed was the present and his curiosity got the better of him as he took a look at the tag. His eyes widened and a grin. "No way!"

* * *

Later that day the cave was quiet as Danny made his return. He had his bag swung over one shoulder as looked around the empty room. He raised a brow in curiosity. It was strange that absolutely no one was around at this time of day. Just as he started towards his room Cujo's happy bark came ringing through the room. "Hey boy." Danny called as the dog proceeded to paw at his boots in happiness. The dog then jumped back and ran towards the living room area. Danny watched him in slight curiosity. Where was he off to so quickly? Cujo usually stuck to him like glue when he came back. He followed him and found the kitchen empty and dark despite it being close to dinner time. "Cujo?" After another good sweep of the room he found several figures hiding about. "Uh…. Why are you all hiding in the kitchen like that?"

The lights flickered on with several grumbles. "I can't believe it! We were just about to say surprise." Beast Boy complained as he walked over to Danny.

"Yeah ese, how did you even know we were here?"

Danny raised a brow at the younger hero. "My eyes glow for a reason you know. I have perfect night vision." He then took a good look at the kitchen counter that had an assortment of snacks. "So…. Not taking into account the extremely unlikely chance this wasn't for me, who told you it was my birthday?"

Beast Boy pointed over to the counter. "Actually, your cousin kind of told us."

"She left your present here." Bart pointed out as he started on a bowl of chips.

"So Gar was pretty adamant about giving you a party." Nightwing stated as he took a seat at the counter. "It's not much, but I hope it's okay."

"I even got M'gann to make you a cake." Beast Boy stated as he picked it off the counter. "She couldn't stay though."

Conner noticed the slight frown he had on his face and let out a huff. "I told you guys he wouldn't want a party."

That snapped the halfa to his senses as he quickly morphed the frown to a slight smile. "Its fine really. It just so happens I was just at one my sister did for me, that's all."

"Hey, two parties, sounds crash." Impulse commented as he finished off the entire bowl of chips.

Garfield gave a teasing glance towards the speedster. "Better hurry or hungry here will eat it all." That got several small laughs from the small crowd while Bart simply blushed as he swallowed.

* * *

Later that night Danny finally made it back to his room and the first thing he did was pick up the phone. It rang twice before Tucker picked up on the other side. "_What's up Dan?"_

"What have you got for me?"

A sigh was heard from the other side. "_Let's see, what have I found since this morning?... oh yeah, nothing."_

"Tuck!" Danny whined at him.

"_Come on dude, can you really expect me to have anything new if I haven't found anything in over a week?"_

Danny sat down onto his bed and raised his free hand to his forehead. "Yes!... No… I'm sorry Tuck….."

"_It's okay dude, I understand. Sam's my friend too ya'know."_

"Yeah, and I'm going crazy here! I need something damn it!" He paused for a moment before standing up again. "Maybe I should go check out the station again."

Tucker gave an exasperated sigh from the other side. "_Slow down man. You've check the place 4 times since we found out. You've looked over the tracks, the cars and everywhere in between. If Sam were anywhere in the Train station, you definitely would have found her."_

"But what if I missed something?" He asked in a pleading tone. "Something small that I wasn't looking for before."

"_Chill dude. We'll find something."_ This was typical conversation between the two of them as of late. Ever since Tucker called to reveal the Sam had gone missing, Danny had been on the edge of his sanity. The calm composure he displays to the team a simple façade to the unravelling yarn of his psyche. "_By the way Danny, you remember that thing you told me about kids being kidnapped all over right?" _

Danny gave a pointless nod as he answered. "Yeah. The Biyalians were taking kids for some weird partner. I don't have a lot of specifics though."

Tucker gave pause before answering. "_Well…. What if Sam was one of the teens they took? They could have taken more than what was found in the hanger right? All of them were runaways just like Sam._"

Danny remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "So…. She was kidnapped by the Light's mysterious partner?"

"_Maybe. I mean its Sam we're talking about. She wouldn't let just anyone take her. They'd have to be professional if you know what I mean."_

Danny nodded to himself. It was more than just an opinion, it was fact. Sam was a little more than a fire cracker with two years of ghost catching under her belt. "Then, if we found out who this partner was….."

"_Maybe we'll find Sam."_ Tucker finished for him. "_But don't get me wrong, it's no guarantee. I'm just tryin to fit the pieces together."_ Danny's panic fell away to a steely gaze he usually gave ghosts causing havoc. 'Sam could be in the hands of these Light guys and their partners… that means the further we get in figuring out the Light's agenda, the closer I can be to getting Sam back. I haven't even spoken to her since….' He was snapped out of his thoughts by Tucker who was feeling a bit ignored. "_Dude? Hello?"_

"Sorry Tuck." Danny apologized. "I was just thinking a bit."

"_Alright then. Keep me posted on anything you find out in that team of yours. That's one lucky break you caught; being on an undercover super hero squad."_

"Jealous?" He heard a chuckle over the phone.

"_Maybe a bit, but I'm getting my own solace from right here in sunny California. Beaches, babes, and barbecue! Is there any more of a heaven out there?" _

Danny raised a brow. "How are you enjoying any of those in March?"

"_I'll get them in a week or two. Spring is coming and the forecast is predicting a heat spell in my area."_

Danny laughed a bit. "Well then, don't let me keep you. Night Tuck."

"_Night dude, and relax alright? Sam's probably giving anyone who dared mess with her hell."_

Danny sat back down and nodded in a knowing fashion. "Yeah, you're probably right." He hung up the phone and laid back with a slight frown on his face. "It doesn't make it any less terrifying though…. God I'm such an idiot." He reprimanded himself as he raised one arm over his eyes.

* * *

Mt. Justice – March 19

"They're both going to wind up our responsibility aren't they?" Mal asked in a knowing fashion.

"Not necessarily." Nightwing responded. "Bart, Impulse, is staying with the Garricks in Central city. Roy, the original Speedy, is recuperating at Royal Memorial Hospital in Star City. Arrows Green and Red are watching over him."

Mal's demeanor didn't change. "Uh-huh, they're both going to wind up our responsibility."

"Doesn't everything?" Super Boy concurred. "I mean, where are we in identifying the Light's new partner?"

Danny walked in just in time hear that particular piece of information and watch Nightwing sigh in exasperation as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "No progress."

"That's par for the course don't you think?" The ghost boy quipped as he shared the sentiment. "At least as far as super-secret villainous societies go right?" That got a smirk out of Nightwing before all attention redirected towards M'gann and La'gann being a standard couple.

"Don't eat so fast La'gann."

"I can't help it angelfish. The idea of cooking crabs is delicious enough, but baking them into little cakes?"

M'gann simply laughed at his response. "Aww oyu're gonna choke."

"If only." Conner grumbled under his breath causing the halfa beside him to stifle a laugh. The two of them continued in their 'oblivious couple' attitude causing Super Boy's anger to rise. "Call me when it's time for the briefing."

Seconds later the computer started the zeta tube. "Recognize, Artemis B-07" Nightwing turned to him with his arms crossed. "It's time for the briefing."

M'gann wasted no time in running to the former teammate in delight. "Artimus!"

"M'gann!" The hugged which quickly changed to them grasping each other's hands and laughing.

"Hey girl" Mal called as he, Super Boy and La'gann approached.

"Hey Mal."

"We have so missed you around here." Conner commented with his previous frown out of sight.

"Conner!"

"I relish this opportunity to fight beside you archer." La'gann greeted as he held his arm around M'gann.

Artemis stumbled a bit over her words as she greeted him back. "Um…. Thanks La'gann." It was phrased slightly as a question though the Atlantean didn't seem to notice.

Danny who watched from afar by Nightwing smirked in an amused fashion. "I still think hi sounds better."

"To each their own right?" Nightwing commented back before calling them over. "Alright Gamma Squad listen up! This mission is covert op. in Cape Canaveral, to guard the first Earth Mars Com Sat. There are people out there who don't even like the idea of aliens, and will do anything to scrub this launch."

Miss Martian' shoulders slumped a bit as he said that. Artimus placed a hand on her shoulder. "But that's why I came back, because not all of us feel that way."

Danny crossed his arms and turned to the Martian. "If it makes you feel any better, a little over 90% of the world population refuses to believe I even exist. As a race no longer exclusive to sci-fi movies, at least you have that much." Though he was being a bit sarcastic when he said it, M'gann accepted the sentiment with a small smile.

Mal gave a laugh before turning to Nightwing. "So why are you going?"

He pulled at the edge of his gloves as he responded. "Let's just say I'm peckish for a little action."

* * *

Cape Canaveral – March 15

The sun was setting as a press conference gathered outside the launch building. Martian Manhunter stood beside Mrs. Ferris as she signaled 1 hour to launch time. Super Man, or even looked upon more closely, Super Boy floated high above them dressed as the aforementioned hero. "This thing itches." He complained under his breath.

"Relax. You'll be out of it soon." A voice from seemingly nowhere responded. Danny floated beside him invisibly as he watched over the crowd with his teammate. "M'gann shouldn't be too much longer. Just a few questions and you're free."

He then redirected his attention to the crowd where Mrs. Ferris was practically force to call on a very pompous man in a blue suit. "Mrs. Ferris, maybe I'm the only one not drinking the space cola, but has anyone even asked whether Earth wants more communication with aliens?"

Both Danny and Super Boy heaved sighs at the man's question. "Here he goes." Conner grumbled with a stern glare on the man.

"I swear there's a guy like this in every town, of course this guy gets national ratings." Danny grumbled with Super Boy. "And yet another example of the ignorant masses being led by an absolute jerk."

"You don't have to tell me that Phantom." Conner responded with a nod.

After watching the annoying display of G. Gordan picking apart the well thought out reasons for the Sat Com, Manhunter flew up to join the pair in the sky. "You're a surprisingly good actor." Danny commented as he flew along with them.

"Thanks Phantom. We're going to head back to the Bio ship. You should move into the building and make sure everything runs smoothly for the launch." Danny gave an invisible salute as he floated back towards the building. "I'm on it."

* * *

Inside the building Danny watched as the tech team for the launch scrambled their last minute preparations together. 'I've always wanted to see a launch up close like this." He mused to himself out of ear shot. His invisibility made for the perfect cover in this situation as not a single human noticed him. After spending a few minutes watching he felt something strange in the back of his mind but quickly brushed it off.

Meanwhile Artemis and Nightwing watched the area from the launch platform itself. He activated his com. "Miss M link us up."

They all heard a mental reverberation before Miss M spoke. "Link established….."

"_Something wrong?"_ Nightwing asked telepathically.

She gave pause before she responded. "_It's Phantom…. I can't seem to link up with him. Give me a sec."_

The halfa in question now wore a furrowed brow as the disturbance he felt earlier came back with a bit more force. "What the heck is that!?" He said almost loud enough for someone else to hear. He closed his eyes and searched around for it a bit. He was able to search out a foreign presence at the back of his mind and with the force of his ghostly will he glared it down. "_Get out of my head!" _

M'gann flinched in her seat aboard the bio-ship as the image of his angry green eyes pierced her own mind. "_Phantom!?"_

Hearing her thoughts in reaction to something, her teammates became worried. "_What's wrong M'gann? Something happen to Phantom?"_ Nightwing asked.

"_No…. I can't…." _She seemed rather distraught and Conner turned to her as she held her head in her hand.

Artemis raised a hand to her chin a moment. "_Has Phantom ever been in a mind link before?"_

Nightwing gave it a thought. "_Come to think of it…. I don't think so. This is his first assigned mission."_

M'gann took in a calming breath. "_Then maybe I just need to let him know who I am."_

It wasn't long before Danny once again felt the strange force at the back of his mind though it seemed a bit different. He was growing a bit exasperated with the force. "_Would you back off already!?"_ He yelled across the telepathic link.

"_Calm down Phantom."_ Nightwing sternly responded much to the halfa's surprise.

"_Whoa…. Nightwing? I didn't know you were a telepath." _

_"He's not."_ M'gann commented. "_I was the one trying to make contact."_

It only took Danny a moment to realize his mistake. _"Oh right, I forgot about that. But geez, warn a guy. How am I supposed to know who you are when you go randomly knocking at the back of my mind?"_ He mentally grumbled with his arms crossed.

"_That was my fault. I should have warned you about our telepathic link before the mission started."_ Nightwing established with a commanding tone. "_Now that we are in full communication, I need Miss M to give me a full sweep of the skies. Phantom, I want you checking over all operations within the building. Sabotage is high on the list for what we may find."_

_ "Hey Nightwing, I'd love to join my Angelfish on that mission."_ La'gann suggested.

Nightwing dismissed it with a tired tone. "_Negative Lagoon Boy. I need you right where you are, giving me maximum coverage of land, air and sea."_

Danny posed a question over the link as he phased through to inspect the building. "_So is this how you guys normally communicate on missions? No offense, but where's the privacy?"_

Nightwing continued to scope out the perimeter as he answered. "_Privacy is a luxury on a mission. Being able to communicate without being jammed is far more valuable."_

"_Point taken I guess…. Oh the sim hanger, sweet." _Artemis couldn't keep a straight face as she continued to look around. She couldn't help but think back to their own frustrations with the link especially between her and Wally. Given enough practice, he'll figure out how to repress the thoughts he doesn't want heard on the link. "_No way!"_

Nightwing stood alert. "_What's wrong Phantom!?" _

_"Oh no, sorry. I was just looking at the score board. My score is still at the top even after a year." _

Artemis raised a brow. "_You're talking about the space shuttle simulators they use to train astronauts right?" _

_"Yeah."_

The archer seemed a bit surprised. "_Impressive." _

_"And I don't even have a driver's license."_ Danny bragged as he floated up through the ceiling of the hanger.

"_Phantom focus. We need to keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious." _Nightwing reprimanded.

_"Sorry, I'm on it. I'm heading over to the Sat Com now to look through the cargo holds."_

"_Do you know where they are?"_

Danny seemed a bit insulted by the question. "_Of course. I built a 1/95 scale model of this thing months ago."_

Artemis turned to Nightwing with a smirk on her face. "The new guy is a space junkie…." She just couldn't keep the smile off her face as she tried not to laugh.

"Everyone has something they're into. This just happens to help us out. We can concentrate more on the beach." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "I know I'm not Wally's favorite person right now, but I am glad you're back."

"It's nice to be back." She responded as she readied her bow. "I didn't realize how much I'd been missing it." She released her bow to its full length. "Which is exactly what Wally' afraid of. He's worried that the rush that comes with the mask will get its hooks in and I won't quite until my dying day."

Nightwing watched as she practice fired with a knowing smile. "I know exactly what you mean."

"_Heads up minnows we got bad guys. Black Manta's troopers. Thney're working some kind of platform beneath the surface just off shore. I'm taking them down!"_ La'gann was just about to jump into action before he was cut off by Nightwing.

"_Belay that, wait for back up."_

_ "I'll scrounge a rebreather from the cargo hold and help the rookie out."_ Super Boy spat in his agitated state.

"_Rookie?"_ La'gann asked with distaste. "_Neptune's Beard, I don't need any help from the boy of steel." _He expanded his form before jumping at the troopers.

"_Lagoon Boy stand down!"_

_ "Sorry. Gershhhhhh! You're breaking up!"_

Nightwing wore an exasperated expression. "_There's no static on the psychic link!"_ He didn't have much time to do much else as Artemis brought their new company to his attention. The two of them jumped into action as they ziplined down a cable towards the beach. "_Super Boy! You have that rebreather?" _

_"Negative! La'gann forgot to restock."_ His agitation wasn't helping the situation at all by this point.

"_You want me to go and give him a hand?"_ Danny asked over the link.

"_Negative Phantom. Continue searching the Sat Com. Super Boy take the helm. Miss Martian, gill up and help Lagoon Boy. Super Boy, we need cover fire down here." _

It only took a moment for Miss Martian to turn over the controls and morphed her body to what could resemble a mermaid as she jumped from the ship to the water. "_La'gann! I'm on my way."_

"Looks like the excitements going on outside." Danny mused to himself. "Looks like I got my work cut out for me once I finish up here." He then took a sweep of a new section of one of the auxiliary rockets and found something a bit off. He looked over the mechanism a bit before it hit him. "This thing is too long."

"_We're on the wrong side of this wall."_

He heard over the com link. "_Tell me you guys aren't standing in front of the deflector wall?..."_ When he got to immediate response to his inquiry he simply commented again. "_I guess it's really only dangerous for when the launch actually starts." _

Karma's pretty timely as the launch alarm goes off and he feels the rocket shift beneath him. Things were going to get hot fast if he didn't get out. "_We're really on the wrong side of this wall!" _

_"Phantom, get out of there!"_ Nightwing commanded through the link.

"_Hold on, I think I actually found something."_

_"What?" _

_"I'm not sure yet, but it's not supposed to be here I'm sure."_

Explosions started above them as Artemis crouched beside him. "_Alright but hurry up. We need back up and you don't need to get launched into space!" _

As soon as he got the okay, Danny began intangibly investigating the modified component. It didn't take him more than a few minutes to find the foreign object inside it. He then tried to figure out exactly what he was dealing with even over the thoughts of his teammates. Eventually the realization hit him as the wires twisted around what he could only see as a detonator. Suddenly he felt the rocket shake even more wildly as it broke from the Earth. "_Crap! Nightwing!" _He didn't hear a response right away but continued on in spite of that while trying to see if there was a way to get the bomb he'd found off without activating it. "_Nightwing theirs a bo-"_

From the shore the combatants watched the Sat Com explode in the sky and Aqua Lad's forces saw no more reason to remain. Nightwing held Artimus in his arms as he turned up to the explosion. "Phantom!" Though worried, he had another priority to fulfill as he started CPR on the limp and lifeless Artemis. He continued as both Miss Martian and Super Boy centered on their location.

Conner looked on obviously distraught. "I don't hear a heartbeat…."

Nightwing finally stopped and let out an exhausted sigh. "She's dead." He sat back with guilt swimming over his features. "Anyone have eyes on Phantom?"

Conner's eyes widened as he turned back toward the cloud of smoke in the sky. "He was still in the-"

"I found him" Miss Martian interrupted. "Reestablishing link."

"_Phantom! Can you hear me!"_ Nightwing pleaded. He didn't hear a response and tired again. "_Phantom!"_

_ "He's not…. Dead is he…?"_ Conner asked with even more emotion coming to the surface. He gave Miss Martian a pleading look before he heard a weak voice on the other end.

"_You're in luck…. I'm still only half dead…."_ When they heard no further response Miss Martian deduced he'd lost consciousness.

"I'll go get him. From what I can tell, he seems to be relatively okay for now." She them flew off to retrieve him.

* * *

**So that's the end of that. I did skip over the mushy heart to heart between M'gann and Super Boy because if you wanted to see it, watch the episode. I wasn't going to change what didn't need to change or type what I didn't really need. I also wrote in dork Danny in this a bit cause that's always fun right? Hope ya'll enjoyed and will say so in a review. I'll also answer any questions and feel free to state my mistakes as well.=^-^=**

**EDIT: I made it so telepathic contact with Danny was hard for a reason. Ghosts have the ability to over shadow others with their own will so I figured, having their will broken would be a lot harder also making it harder to tamper with their thoughts. It only made sense that Danny, in his Phantom form, would also be resistant to it as well. Just a little headcannon I cooked up. Its not like Danny was training himself to resist it, and other ghosts they come accross will be equally resistant.=^-^=**


	8. Chapter 8 - Secrets

**So it has been awhile I know. Sorry about that, but at least I'm still writing right? The last several weeks have been more than busy for me but with Summer here, hopefully I won't leave you hanging too much. These are good size chapters I think so you get to read quite each time anyway. Anyway, so this is for episodes "Satisfaction" and "Depths". The parts involving Arsenal will not be changed.=^-^=**

**Ch. 8 - Secrets**

* * *

Mt. Justice – March 20

_ "So its some sort of undercover thing right?"_ Tucker questioned over the phone.

Danny gave out a sigh as he floated on his back. "Probably. Only those four are supposed to know about it." He then took a look down at the mountain below. "Plus, no one else is in on it for sure. I can't even go near the cave with everyone mourning in there." He groaned as he rubbed his head a bit. "The last thing I need is to be in another funeral." He heard Tuck laugh on the other side of the line. "That's not funny Tuck." The halfa snapped.

"_Relax dude, I wasn't laughing about that. It's just… You're starting to sound like your old self."_

Danny raised a brow as he floated in an upright position. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"_Look dude. Ever since the incident, you've been in eccentric mode. Always patrolling, always working on something or worrying about something. You were starting to scare me man."_

Danny took a moment to think. "But I still do all of those things…. Heck, If it wasn't for the fact that I was already blown up today, I would be working on my portal about now….." And then he let out a solemn sigh. "Or maybe looking for Sam if I had anything to go on." He heard Tucker silently curse over the phone. "It's okay. I'm done being obsessive alright? I mean, I really don't have much of a choice at this point but to wait."

"_True, but that doesn't stop you most of the time. So what are you going to do about that secret ops thing? You going to tell any of the others?"_

Danny weaved his fingers through his snow white hair in thought. "Nah…. I may not know Kaldur or Aqualad much, Professor Speedy only seems to try and prove I'm not a ghost whenever I see him, but I do trust Nightwing. If he's willing to go this far in order to figure out the Light's plans, then I'll just go along with it for now. Plus, it could definitely prove to be worth it if Sam does turn out to be mixed up in it."

_"Well, it is your call, but keep me posted okay? I'll be sure to keep you up to date on Sam too."_

"Thanks Tuck, I appreciate that." He then heard the line go dead and hung up his phone.

He gave a sigh as he looked up towards the moon. "I really don't think sleeping is an option at this point…. The sun will be up in a couple hours anyway." He then placed his hands behind his head and floated in a laying position. "So, I get to go to Cape Canaveral, explore the newest sat com just before it explodes with me inside, and then I follow Nightwing to some super-secret meeting to find out Aqualad is some kind of undercover operative." He pauses a moment before his expression turned to distaste. "Somehow it's like I'm enjoying this…." He commented with a slight smile. "Tuck may just have a point…." He realized as he placed a hand on his chin in thought. He then turned back to fly back into Mount Justice. "Hopefully at least a few of them are mourned out by now. I just can't stay in a room full of that much depressing energy."

* * *

It was just after sunrise when Nightwing finally made his way back to the cave. Many of the other team members were still present including Jaime who saw him enter. "Hey…. How'd he take it?" Nightwing remained silent as he turned away from the younger member. "That bad huh…?" He sighed as he turned away. "Well, I'm going to go see how Danny's doing then."

Nightwing watched as he turned down to hall towards the halfa's room. "He woke up?"

Jaime turned to him with a nod. "Yeah, he snapped out of it only a few minutes after you left. He didn't stick around though, and went to hold up in his room as soon as he found out what happened."

The vigilante raised a brow and moved to follow. "I'll come too. It was his first official mission on the team, so for it to end like that… well."

Jaime nodded. "Yeah ese, I would probably be depressed." The two walked quietly past the living area where the others still mourned and headed down the dorm hall. They stopped just in front of his door where Jaime knocked after a slight moment of hesitation. "Hey Danny…. You awake in there?"

They heard a muffled response before Danny answered the door. "What's up Jaime…" He seemed a bit caught off guard when he saw Nightwing standing next to the friend he expected. "Oh Nightwing…. Uh, didn't know you were back." His nervous tone didn't go unnoticed by either of them and he was face palming himself mentally for his inability to play it a bit smoother. 'I just have to pretend I never saw it….. right…..' "So, did you guys need something?"

Nightwing was surprised at the halfa's demeanor since he didn't appear to be mourning like the rest were, but he also had only just met Artemis. Jaime rubbed the back of his head. "I was just coming to check on you hermano since you came back after being blown up."

"Hmm? Oh well I'm fine really." He down played as best he could. "It was mostly the shock wave from the explosion that caught me off guard. I do appreciate it though." He then rubbed the back of his neck a bit. "What about you guys? I mean I just met Artimes yesterday, but you've known her for longer right?" He stated as he turned to Nightwing. "I was surprised you got back so fast since you Kid Flash are best friends and all." He then shrugged. "But, that's just me." He then turned back to Jaime. "You should probably go and try and get some sleep. I know at least a few of the others have left by now right?"

The younger teen nodded as he turned away. "Uh yeah… you're probably right. I'll see you sometime later hermano." He then left with a melancholy tone about him.

Danny then turned back to Nightwing as heard his throat clear. "I wanted to talk to you about the mission. Since it was your first official mission, I want you to know it wasn't-"

"Hold up." Danny interrupted as he raised a hand to stop him. "You don't need to tell me that cause I already know. I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing when everything happened so I did what I could." He then raised a brow at the slight surprise on Nightwing's face. "You should know my sister's a Psychology major, so I've already heard this one more times than I can count. It's kinda become standard procedure for her to say it when I see her…." He said with confidence and a pinch distaste before giving the leader a slightly worried expression. "Of course the same could be said for you. I'm sure you know that everything you did tonight was the best you could do and needed to be done no matter the consequences." Nightwing furrowed his brow at the comment before Danny continued. "I mean you were right there right? If anyone should've felt helpless…" He quickly caught himself. "Well anyway, I'm fine. Just let me know when you need me again and I'll be ready." He then gave his best 'trying not to be depressed' expression. "Sorry, but I'm just going to stay in here….. funerals bother me."

"It's okay." The leader said in understanding. "No problem, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

As soon as Danny was able to close the door relief flowed out of him like a leaking balloon. "I didn't think trying to be sad was this hard….." He grumbled to himself as he leaned against the inside of the door.

Meanwhile in the hall, Nightwing couldn't help but be curious over the teen's demeanor. It was almost as if he was forcing himself to be sad….. but that wouldn't make any sense. "I'm thinking too far into it…" He tried to convince himself, but something just didn't sit quite right.

* * *

Mt. Justice - March 21

Several of the younger members were down in the grotto looking over the memorials of their fallen comrades. All but Bart seemed to still be mourning from the day before. The speedster in question seemed to be enjoying a bag of snacks much to the slight irritation of his friends. "What? Mourning makes me hungry." He said with a sheepish expression.

Jaime then grabbed him in frustration and pulled him a few feet away. "You stole those Chicken Wizzies from my locker didn't you?!" He accused.

"Hey hey hey, where I come from its not stealing, its scavenger's rights. We don't have Chicken Wizzies, freeze dried or otherwise, in my era… so blame Kid Flash, he got me hooked." He finished with little condolence.

Jaime then face palmed. "Uh… forget I asked."

Impulse then decided to ask a question of his own. He made a good point about why the heroes should have something flashier and more public, but it seems he missed the over-all reason. "I mean, don't they deserve it?"

Jaime nodded. "Yeah, I asked that too, but Captain Atom says the league doesn't want or need a public shrine to its fallen." He then turned to the side. "But to be honest I just don't think they like advertising that we're not immortal." He turned towards the Ted Cord memorial. "I mean the hand full of regular people who have seen me in action think I'm this guy in a new costume, and the world will never know about Ted Cord's sacrifice." He finished in a lamenting tone.

"But you'll know." Bart encouraged as he poked his friend in the chest. "And you're carrying on the great Blue Beetle legacy."

Jaime's expression became annoyed. "I wish! It's such a total rip! Super Boy has Super Man, Wonder Girl has Wonder Woman, Robin has Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl." He then turned to Bart. "You've been here like five minutes and already you have three Flash mentors and one of them feeds you junk food!" He finished as he jabbed the offending speedster in the chest causing him to subsequently hide the bag behind his back. He then turned back to the statue "But me? I never even got to meet the guy who should have been my mentor." He sighed as he shoved both hands in his pockets.

"Did you really have too?" The teens turned to see Danny leaning against a wall at the bottom of the stairwell.

"What do you mean?" Jaime inquired as he raised a brow.

Danny stood up and started to walk over. "I mean, you don't really need one. Heck I didn't even have a mentor that I could model myself after. How many ghost heroes do you know of?" Danny pointed out. "Anyway, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape about it. That last Blue Beetle was just something to aspire to right? I mean, you don't want to be him, but yourself. I'm sure people will pick up on it eventually but it's not really important."

Jaime crossed his arms. "Easy for you to say. You have your own comic book and fans all over."

Danny wore a frown at that. "Like I wanted one? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that everyone starts somewhere. Who was the man of steel before Super Man? Or the Dark Knight of Gotham before Batman? You think they had a mentor to show them what to do when they first started out?"

The teen thought for a moment before trading a glance with Bart. "So like Phantom!" He then placed a hand on the conflicted boy's shoulder. "He's absolutely right!"

Robin gave a nod as he approached from behind. "Yeah, just because you don't have Ted Cord to show you the ropes doesn't mean you won't figure them out."

Jaime raised a brow and then turned back to Danny. "Well… I guess…"

The halfa then nodded. "Yup and besides, even without a mentor you're still a hero right? Something must have made you decide to become one right? You shouldn't have to be told to."

Jaime quickly found a smile rising to his face as he thought about. "Yeah… your right. I made that decision for myself." He then reached for the back of his head as he shoved the other one in his pocket. "Though to be honest, the comics helped."

Danny furrowed his brow. "Wait…. What?"

"Well you know I like to collect comics right? It just so happens that…. I had bought the first few of yours not too long before the Scarab attached itself to me. You didn't really know what to do at first, but you tried anyway right?" He seemed a bit embarrassed as he explained it.

"So crash!" He zoomed to place his hand around the halfa's neck. "You inspired the Blue Beetle of today!" He then pulled out his comic from out of nowhere. "And gave me an autograph! So now I have the Phantom of my era and the first Phantom!" He declared as he opened it up to the back page to reveal an older signature. "So hermano," he began as he moved over to Jaime. "It seems we have a lot in common, our love of collecting things for example." He held up the snack bag. "Let me buy you another bag of Chicken Wizzies, we'll hang and it'll be totally crash." He suggested as he led the boy out of the grotto.

Danny watched with a brow raised and a slight tinge of green on his face. "Embarrassed?" Robin teased.

Danny snapped out of his thoughts as he rubbed his neck. "Several things actually…. But still, I'm never going to like those stupid comics." He finished adamantly.

Robin gave a shrug. "I dunno, seems kind of cool to me."

"Yeah but it doesn't show your screw ups…." He responded dryly before giving a sigh. "I need a publicist…"

* * *

Mt. Justice – March 23

"Okay, FETCH!" Danny shouted as he threw the log as far as he could. He was out playing with Cujo for a bit since he hadn't done much but work on his portal all day. Aside from that, night is the only time Cujo can really have much fun outside without worrying about getting spotted. The large spectral hound jumped up and claimed the broken tree happily. Upon landing he quickly dashed back to his master and dropped the log at his feet. Danny looked up to the dog who watched him expectantly. "You know, this would be easier if you didn't play in your big form."

Cujo simply whined in excitement as he awaited for it to be thrown again. "Okay.." He started as he hoisted it up again. He threw it in a small spin ad Cujo dashed for it. They played a few rounds before Cujo finally broke the log from chomping down on it. "Alright, that's the end then." Danny announced. "I can't go taking all the trees down you know." The ghost dog gave a small whine of disappointment as he ran back over to Danny. "Aww come on, you know we never do more than one." He then started to scratch at his chin. "Who's a good boy huh? Who's my good boy?" He flipped to his back and Danny moved to rub his belly.

Cujo ate up the attention for a bit before he suddenly stiffened up. The sudden change was quickly noticed by Danny who turned to see him with his ears up. "Cujo….?" As he stopped rubbing his belly he started to hear a low growl from the dog. "What's wrong boy?" Danny questioned as he turned to the Mountain that Cujo was growling at. "It can't be a ghost, my ghost sense didn't go off." He raised a brow as Cujo turned over to stand on all fours. "What could…..?" He raised a hand to his chin. "Stay Cujo." He commanded as he flew back towards the cave. The dog obeyed while still glaring at the mountain, ready to come when called.

Danny flew right through the rocky outer shell with his intangibility and cloaked himself just as he made it inside. "Stand down!" He heard from a strangely familiar voice.

His eyes first found their way to Blu as he floated while surrounded by villains Danny had never seen. He next noticed Aqualad who had shouted earlier. "What's he doing here?" He muttered to himself as he watched the Atlantean approach. "Is this part of that under cover thing?"

He then turned back to Blu as he seemed to mutter to himself. "Good guys included? No thanks."

"This battle is over!" Kaldur said in a commanding tone.

"I don't think so traitor!" Blu spat back with his cannons readied.

"Then rethink Beetle." Kaldur then set the duffle bag on his shoulders down on the ground and pulled out a pod like object. "This is a bomb just like the one that destroyed Malina Island. I am holding down the Dead Man Switch." He held up the item with confidence. "If my thumb comes off this button for any reason, Mount Justice falls." His words were absolute as he spoke them with practiced calm.

Blu seemed conflicted a moment as he seemed to argue with the Scarab. He then stashed away his weapons in surrender while floating down. A collar was quickly placed around his neck in order to keep him from fighting back. "We're standing down."

"Wise choice." Kaldur praised as Icicle Jr. slid down a newly formed ice path.

"I'm fine by the way." He griped in annoyance.

"Good."Kaldur responded without looking back. "Escort Beast Boy, Impulse, Blue Beetle back to the flier."

"What about these two?" Tigress questioned.

"As hostages here they have value. Nightwing is an ordinary human, Super Boy is a Half Kryptonian half human clone. Neither of which are of any use to our partner." He then turned towards the young leader of the team and slowly approached. Nightwing stood in response. "But there is one more we are to acquire." Nightwing tensed up upon his approach. He watched warily as Kaldur remained calm, but was taken a bit by surprise when he suddenly punched him. The young hero clutched his sore stomach as Kaldur gripped him by the collar. "Tell me where the Phantom is."

Nightwing scoffed at him with a pained grunt. "Why don't you find him yourself?! You'll regret the this!" He finished as he tried to straightened himself up.

Danny watched in irritation at the scene. 'Okay, now this is getting out of hand! Either these two are the best actors in the world, or Aqua Lad is a real traitor.' He paused a moment. 'Well….. maybe this was…..' He thought back to the meeting they had the other night. 'I guess they couldn't really script this sort of thing….'

"I have outgrown any regret, just as I have outgrown the title of 'Aqua Lad'. One more time. Where is the Phantom!" He commanded. Nightwing laughed as he pushed him back while holding a crouch.

"Maybe we can get it out of one of the others?" Tigress proposed as she approached the two of them.

"Or maybe you can look right behind you!" Danny shouted as he finally entered the fray. Whatever was going on, he knew it couldn't continue. If he didn't do something, things could quickly go south with their plan. Danny was just behind Aqua Lad as the Atlantean turned around and got slammed with an aerial kick.

He was thrown to the side a few meters by the sudden assault but was able to regain his footing in the fall. "Phantom." He stated in a still calm tone. "So you show yourself at last." He then gave silent signals to all but Icicle Jr. who was moving the others to the Manta Flier.

Danny easily noticed the three of them out of his peripheral vision and gave an agitated growl. "Four against one huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you don't play fair, but still you were a good guy at one point; is fair really so far gone?" He then gave a short laugh. "Did the Black Guppy teach you how to gang up on people?"

Kaldur cut his eyes at the tease before Tommy Terror moved in from behind. He tried to slam his clasped fists down on the halfa but went right through him. He jumped and elbowed the off guard villain in the side of the head. His sister quickly retaliated by grabbing one of his legs and swinging him away at the wall. When Danny suddenly disappeared she growled and searched for his new location. "Damn it! Where'd he go!?"

As Kaldur watched the fight he heard a page on his com link. "Help!" Icicle Jr. yelped. "He's loose!" He raised a brow and tried to get him to elaborate before Blue Beetle busted in with weapons blazing.

"Stop!" He shouted, but it didn't seem to be for any of the invading villains. He sent a pulse blast straight at Aqua Lad who parried with a blade formed from one of his water bearers.

"Contain Phantom!" He shouted to the others as he stared down Blu. "I will deal with this one." Blu charged with a mace like weapon only to miss rather clumsily. As he turned to swing again Kaldur electrocuted him with his powers and exposed a portion of his back. "Now Tigress!" She complied by shooting a dart at him which quickly caused the armored hero to retaliate almost blindly. He hadn't expected such a reaction and so he lost his footing and dropped the switch.

As the hero hit the ground, although he was losing consciousness, he could still see and his eyes widened at the lack of explosion. "It was…. A bluff…. You were….ri…" He then blacked out as Kaldur stood before him.

After the Atlantean saw the teen pass out Tommy Terror went flying across the room. "Didn't expect that one did you!" The halfa shouted.

"How about this!" Shouted Tuppance as she grabbed him from behind.

Danny grabbed at her arms as his eyes flashed blue causing a chill to run up her spin. With the distraction he needed he phased out and knocked her back. "Now I know why they call you the Terror Twins. You're terrible at fighting." He quipped with a smirk. The smirk quickly fell as he felt cold metal around his neck and heard a click as the collar was placed. "What!?" He said in bewilderment as he gripped the collar with both hands.

"But they do make a very good distraction." Tigress informed as she held up the remote. Danny's eyes widened as he turned to her just before every nerve in his body lit up with pain. He was yelling in agony as he fell to his knees.

"Good work Tigress." Kaldur praised as he watched Icicle Jr. come back inside the cave. "Grab him!" He commanded the ice powered villain while pointing to Blue Beetle. "We are done here." Tommy quickly grabbed Danny, who was now unconscious from the shock of the collar, and whipped him over his shoulder. Kaldur watched the others head out and he turned back to his secret ally. "Although my earlier threat was indeed a bluff, know that I am still capable of destroying Mount Justice. The remote has a five mile range, should you follow I will not hesitate to follow through."

All Nightwing could do was glare him down as he strolled out with four of his team mates. Once he had left Nightwing stood up and headed over to Super Boy. "Better get moving."

"I figured it was something." Danny stated as he made himself visible just behind the hero.

Nightwing's eyes widened as he turned to face the halfa. He looked at the slightly agitated teen before looking back at the exit. "But you were…?" Danny shook his head. "Nope, but I did have you fooled didn't I?" He mused before becoming serious. "Now I don't know the full plan you four are cooking up, but I doubt any of this was in it." He sounded almost like he was reprimanding him, but gave a nod. "But I also know it's important and I trust you, if none of the others." He then flew over to the strange bomb. "That being said, I decided to go along with it."

Nightwing gave an understanding nod as he moved over to Super Boy. "Thanks Phantom." He lifted the hybrid onto his shoulder as Sphere rolled into the room. "We need to get them out of here."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but we also need to take care of this bomb." He turned his head and raised a brow. "You really think I'm going to let my home get blown up while I'm actually around to stop it?"

Nightwing gave a sigh and then an amused smile. "Alright then, but try not to get blown up this time."

* * *

The teens grumbled as they regained consciousness, and quickly realized they were bound and collared. "Boss fish still has a soft spot for his old team." Junior accused from his seat aboard the ship." He and the twins traded annoyed glances as Kaldur took a breath of resolution.

He gave a glance to Tigress. "Do it."

She raised both brows. "Are you sure?"

He turned to her and repeated. "Do it." She took a breath before pressing down the button that would destroy years of her past. Seconds later a shock wave was felt as the Flier hit some turbulence, but it was short lived. Kaldur's eyes widened in surprise as he looked towards the viewing screen. Sure enough, Mount Justice was still intact though it now had a smoking chimney near the hangar.

"What's goin on?" Tommy questioned as he turned to his leader.

"I am not sure." He looked towards Tigress who seemed just as surprised as he was. "It could be that the bomb we received was damaged."

"You mean we got a dud!?" Junior questioned in slight outrage. Kaldur nodded before a tired chuckle could be heard from the prisoners.

Impulse turned to see it was Danny as he sat tied with the rest of them. "Yo Phantom, what's so funny?" He asked in a hushed tone. Beast Boy also turned in interest.

Kaldur gave a glare as he stood up to address the halfa. "Yes Phantom, what is so amusing about your situation?"

Danny lifted his head to face him. It was obvious to anyone that he was tired but he still wore a smirk. "You know, I heard about you. You were the first leader of the team, sidekick to Aquaman, can use Atlantean magic, and top tear in fighting too." He took a breath in exhaustion. "Me? Well, I suck at most sports, magic…. Yeah can't do any of it, and to top it all off, I'm a C student." Kaldur glared down at him as he seemed to pant shallowly.

"Dude, you need to stop talking." Impulse suggested.

"Yeah, you can't fight him like this." Beast Boy agreed.

"You should listen to them Phantom. Considering your current appearance, it would not take much for me to return you to your human state."

Danny raised a brow. "So you know about that huh?"

He then laughed. "Doesn't matter though; since I won't change anyway."

"You seem quite sure of yourself." Kaldur observed as he continued to glare down at the teen.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Anyway, so as you can imagine, I'm not some kind of genious especially in chemistry since I barely grazed by with a C-, but…" He gave a slight pause. "I do know what happens when you lower the temperature for a reaction down to absolute zero."

Kaldur thought a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "So it was you." He looked back towards Tigress and the two shared a silent exchange before he turned back to face the halfa. "But when did you…?"

Danny laughed again. "Yeah, that's the other thing I wanted to tell you." He then gave a glance to both boys. "Sorry guys but my time's up." Just as he said that, the white rings formed at his waist and they spread out from there. To the shock of all who witnessed it, Danny was no longer there. Instead of his human self in the place of Phantom there was now an empty collar and loose ropes.

"Whoa!" Beast Boy exclaimed in surprise.

"So you didn't know he could do that either?" Impulse asked in equal surprise.

Kaldur let out an irritated grunt as he took back his seat. "It seems we have been adequately fooled. It was just as the other one stated." Tigress gave a nod. Of course both of them were secretly relieved at both the escape and the Cave's survival.

* * *

Back at Mt. Justice, Nightwing who was preparing to give chase on the Super Bike, was caught in the turbulence as the explosion went off. Though they were knocked from the air, the bike was able to regain its balance and now floated calmly on the water. "That idiot!" He shouted as he steadied himself from the shock wave. When he turned back to the mountain, he was surprised to see it almost completely intact. There was, unfortunately, a new skylight over the hangar now. He flew the Super Bike back up causing a splash to wake up Super Boy who was out cold in the back seat.

"Whao! What!?" He looked to seen Nightwing taking the Superbike down towards the shore. "What happened?!"

The leader seemed agitated as he responded. "I don't have time to tell you, but Phantom may have just gotten blown up again!"

They landed and both jumped out immediately to assist Danny who could very well a stain on the wall by now. Upon turning into the exposed hangar they see Cujo already digging throw several large pieces of debris. The explosion seemed to only damage that one area with large cracks stemming into the halls further in. The dock was a pile of rubble with water pouring down all around the room. Cujo was digging in the pile by the water, knocking rocks away as he moved deeper. "It's Cujo!" Super Boy identified as he ran over to the dog to help. He pushed away several of the large rocks himself before Cujo finally found his master. He pulled on the exposed leg and the rest of him slid out from under the rubble fairly easily due to Danny's lean, but thin build.

He coughed is pulled completely out. "Okay… so maybe it doesn't work for all reactions completely…" He mumbled in distaste. His hair was a mess and charred along with his suit which was now mostly grey and black. He sat up slowly and pat his hair back down from its spikey position. Cujo was more than happy to see Danny was alright and let him know by pinning him down with his slobbery tongue. Nightwing gave a breath of relief along with Super Boy as they watched him try and push the dog away.

* * *

Hall of Justice – March 24

Nightwing sat at a table as the Zeta Tube announced Kid Flash's arrival. He was not happy as he marched over with an angry scowl. "What happened!" He demanded in a calm tone.

"It was necessary." Nightwing responded in a solemn tone.

"It better have been. Spill." Wally demanded.

"Aqua Lad needed a way to help us find Lagoon Boy. He had already injected a microscopic tag into La'gann and he used the raid on the cave as a way to pass 'Essential' intel. A flash drive." He explained as he held it up to the speedster. "It contains, among other things, tracking software that can locate the tag."

"Like that's all he did?!" Wally asked in outrage as he crossed his arms.

"Wally he had to make it look good. He put inhibiter collars on us but he knew I'd get us out of them."

"He took three more hostages! Members of your team!" Wally countered in a rising tone.

"And we'll rescue them when we rescue Lagoon Boy." Nightwing responded in a forced calm tone.

Wally was now getting frustrated with his friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Dick! He tried to blow up the cave! You guys could have been killed!"

Nightwing grabbed Walling's wrists and lowered them. "No! It's all on the drive. He knew we'd have to pursue to make it look good and he gave us time to escape…. We just got caught up in the shockwave."

"It really sucks when that happens doesn't it?" Wally's eyes widened as he turned to the intruder. Danny was standing at the wall by the Zeta Tubes with his arms crossed. His jumpsuit was mildly tattered but relatively clean and he didn't seem injured at all. "Hey Professor Skeptic, long time no see?" He quipped in an amusing tone.

Wally instantly turned back to Nightwing and pointed a finger at the halfa. "What is he doing here!? Don't tell you spilled to the rookie!"

"Hey, I'm no rookie!" Danny retorted in offense.

Nightwing gave a sigh as his pinched the bridge of his nose. "No Wally, he figured it out himself. He followed me after the mission in Cape Canaveral."

Wally wore confused and disappointed expression. "You let that guy tail you?"

Danny rolled his eyes and began listing with his fingers. "I can fly, become invisible, and intangible; Good luck hiding from that." Danny remarked was the speedster turned to him in annoyance.

Wally responded by raising his hands in a defeated motion. "Just great! Now the whole cover is blown!"

Nightwing grabbed KF's shoulders. "Calm down Wally! The secret's still safe. Danny agreed to work with us and not tell the others."

Wally stepped back and out of his friend's hands. "Calm down! Calm down!? Are you even hearing yourself!? What if even one of you had gotten caught up in it!? What if the explosion hadn't fizzled out!? Why would he need to go to such an extremes!?"

Nightwing looked towards the ground as he leaned back against the table. "Then Mt. Justice would be rubble by now, but Danny was able to stop it from destroying the cave." He gave a sigh. "On the drive he explains how he needed to cement his position with the Light and their new partner."

"Then what was the point in murdering Artemis?" He asked with air quotes and distaste.

"I guess it didn't convince everyone." Nightwing lamented.

"You guess!? The cave maybe fine, but I'm worried about Artemis! She's right where he wants her!"

Nightwing wore a surprised expression. "This is Kaldur we're talking about! Our friend!"

Wally scoffed. "Yeah, our friend, who in the span of only a few months lost the love of his life and found out Black Manta was his father! Don't you think it might be a little possible that Aqua Lad really has betrayed us? That he might be a triple agent?" Dick couldn't stop himself from seeing the possibility as Kid Flash had put it.

"Would you listen to yourself? I mean I get it, you're worried about your girlfriend, but if you really didn't trust him, you would have never handed her over to begin with." Danny informed as he shook his head.

"Like you need to be telling me whether to trust him!? You just met him today!" Wally practically shouted back.

"True, I don't know him at all aside from what I've been told. I also don't claim to have the best track record at reading character, but I wasn't talking about me. You already trust him, but you can't explain why and that's why you're mad."

Wally raised a brow in agitation. "So Casper's a psychologist now?" He quipped in an unamused tone.

"No but I had to live with one for years. Anyway, you're the eternal skeptic so your own faith confuses you. You're just going to have to come to terms with the fact that faith can't be explained with science."

Wally crossed his arms with a calmer expression. "Faith or no faith, that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Even though he's supposed to be playing them, how would we know he's not playing us?"

Danny gave shrug in surrender. "Guess that's what faith is all about isn't it?"

Wally gave an exasperated sigh before turning to Nightwing. "Just keep it in mind. If he turns on us, we better be ready for it."

* * *

Atlantic Ocean – March 24

Kaldur stood before his father as the troopers rolled out the young heroes in pods. He watched them pass before turning back to his son. "Come with me." He quickly guided him into a room with TV screens showing several top villains. "Please allow me to officially introduce Kaldur'am, my son. He has succeeded in every mission, and then some. Not only did he capture Beetle as instructed but two bonus meta's as well." He then turned to his son. "As for the failed destruction of Mount Justice, well…"

"Please, I must apologise father." Kaldur explained. "My mission could not be called a success since I was unable to capture Phantom, and it was he who thwarted the bomb."

"Yes, but we appreciate the initiative you've shown us, and strong family ties." Raish started. "As for Phantom, it was as expected."

It was then that a seventh screen flickered on to reveal a rather sinister man with fangs and blood red eyes. "Yes, I had my doubts that you and your little squad would be able to subdue him so simply, proving ever more my own worth to the Light."

"Indeed." Raish agreed with a smirk. "And so I welcome you to the Light Kaldur'am. It is time for you to meet our partner."

* * *

**OK and that's a wrap for this one. So lot's of deviation right? First of all, I saved the Cave cause I liked it. Feel free to hate me for it but I can write however I want and I wanted to save the cave. Second, If you hadn't noticed, Vlad is working with the Light. He's also part of the reason they wanted Phantom but I'm not telling. I know it may be a bit confusing considering how he was earlier, but just bare with me. All shall be revealed in due time.**

**I also want to note that this is not KF bashing. Wally is a skeptic and so the idea of a ghost would annoy him just like magic did in season 1. I'm just giving him a more argumentative point by having him not believe in ghosts too. (Its fun too.)**

**One last thing! I know I said the comic hing would be small, but its really been useful in setting up relations and so I'm using it for that too. Danny is older than alot of the other new members and so I think he'd be a good adviser at times. Give them a bit of his two sense you know? This Danny is older than in the show and has been through a lot more so he'd be more mature and wiser about thing too. (Still kind of a dork thoug****h... LOL)**

**Anyway, please direct any questions and comments... and mistakes down to this review box here. I love to read them and they even give me fun ideas sometimes. I would be oh so very greatful if you would just take a moment to do that and I'll talk to ya'll next time.=^-^=**


	9. Chapter 9 - Rescue

**Still tackling some writer's block with most of my fics but this one actually has an outside story line I can pull from so it was easier to update than the others. It covers events from episode 10 "Before the Dawn" along some fun points of my own creation. Enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 9 - Rescue**

* * *

Mt. Justice – March 25

Several of the team members were going through the debris that was once their hanger. Nightwing watched as Super Boy pushed aside some of the dock. "This is going to take a while."

"You're telling me?" The Kryptonian responded. "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Phantom hadn't crippled that bomb."

Nightwing gave a nod. "Yeah, but the cave is going to need some repairs if not more." He looked over to the webbing cracks along the walls. "We need to make sure that explosion, however contained it was, didn't compromise the structural integrity of the cave." He then looked up towards the opening. "And we'll have to cover that up before prying eyes come to wander."

"I got something for that." They both heard Danny say as the top was blanketed over. The rustle of the tarp could be heard as it was pulled to fit the opening. Danny phased through the top and froze it in place with his ice powers at several places. Once he saw it wasn't going anywhere he floated down to them. "This should make a good temporary fix as long as no one jumps on it."

Nightwing gave him an approving nod. "It'll do. Once we can get a good idea of the overall damage, we can think about how to fix it permanently."

"Yeah, anyway, I put up support beams in several of the hallways that had cracks in them just in case. They don't go very deep, so that's a good sign right?"

"You're tellin me." Mal chimed in as he approached the three of them. "That was one heck of a fireworks show, and the tremor was a crazy finally. Half the town was in a panic."

Danny gave a shrug. "I tried. Anyway," He began as he floated up. "I need to go check on something real quick. If you need me, I'm over there." He informed as he gestured to another Danny helping Mrs. Martian relocate storage crates from a compromised closet.

He then flew off without another word leaving Mal with a confused brow raised. "So….."

"He told me it was a duplicate. He used it to trick Kaldur." Nightwing informed as he too watched in curiosity. "He told me it was like copying himself, and he could make two more."

Mal crossed his arms. "So why not use that more often? I mean, Phantom went one on one with Super Boy, and the Terror Twins right? Seems he could be pretty powerful if he just started out with four."

Nightwing shook his head. "I asked that too, but he said it put too much strain on his powers. He's still practicing with it so he can't use more than one for fighting or he'll lose focus. He also noted that because they were duplicates, they aren't as strong as the original with each one only getting a fraction of power."

Mal wore a slightly disappointed expression. "I see. Well there goes that idea then. Regardless though, that guy has a pretty impressive set of powers." He thought it over in his head. "Let's see….. Invisibility, intangibility, flight, kryokenisis, enhanced strength….." He scratched his head. "And now duplication?"

Nightwing gave a nod. "Yeah it is a pretty impressive list, and chances are, he'll be a power house if and when he ever joins the league."

Super Boy, who had dragged away a few large portions of rubble, came back over to grab some more. "You two just going to stand there all day?"

"Nope." Nightwing responded as he turned to leave the hangar. He had a few things to go over before their next mission.

* * *

A few hours later they had most of the broken portions cleaned away to reveal a more than destroyed cavern. If it didn't have the walls around it, it would have probably caved in. Nightwing reentered with a sigh at the damage. He quickly dismissed it as he kept his priorities straight. He took a good look around and spotted who he was looking for. "Phantom!"

It quickly got Danny's attention as he turned his head while carrying a good sized crate. "Hm? What's up?"

Nightwing motioned him over. "I need to talk to you. Come over here."

He gave a shrug as he handed it off to Wonder Girl. "Sorry." He apologized before flying over to Nightwing. "Something wrong?"

"No." He answered concisely as he turned. "I need to go over something with you." Danny followed the young leader as he only assumed he wanted him to. He led him to the briefing room where he brought up a map on the computer. "I got the tracking software going to find Lagoon Boy. Once we get everything together, we are going to go and get him and the others back from where ever Kaldur took them. Where ever it was, it has something to do with the Light's new partner."

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. Did he include anything about them?"

Nightwing gave a shake of his head. "No, he was never given too much information about them. Hopefully, this time though, they'll let him in on it. Anyway, I need you to go in early for this one. You're going in just ahead of us to the ship where you'll try and make contact with Aqua Lad. If he's not there then you'll just have to come in on the mission to find the others. I can't tell what's actually there until we get there and if we go check it out ahead of time the others will get suspicious."

Danny agreed. "Yeah, good point. So I fly off ahead and find Aqua Lad, but if I can't find him then just join in. I got it."

"Good, also…" He started as he pulled up a new file. "I was finally able to get through the encryption from the files recovered from the GIW facility. Most of it is corrupted which is what delayed my decryption so much, but there is some information still viable. It appears to be some sort of chemical." A basic rendering of the molecule in question appeared on the screen. "But I've never seen anything like it before."

Danny raised a brow at it and thought. "I can't say I have either. Chemistry isn't my strongest subject…"

Nightwing turned to him. "If the whole file wasn't so corrupted then this wouldn't be so frustrating, but this is how it was even in their computer if the encryption was done right. So you don't know why they would want whatever this is either?"

Danny gave a shrug. "To be honest? No. That could be ecto-foamer for all I know, but I know someone who can find out." He assured as he started at the keys. "If this was stolen from the Fenton Work's mainframe then if I get the directory address then I can go get a copy of it from Tucker. He's been keeping track of everything from the computer from security to research."

Nightwing gave an approving nod. "Well the sooner we can figure out what it is, the sooner we can figure out what they're up to."

"Yeah…" Danny started as he brought up the data he was looking for. "The bad part is, I'm not going to be able to get it for a while, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know."

* * *

Pacific Ocean – March 30

"And this is the scientist in charge of all meta-gene research." The ambassador presented to the young Atlantean. Kaldur was being shown around the Reach's labs now that he had been fully accepted into the Light.

The scientist turned to him with a calculating yet pleased expression. "I understand you are responsible for providing several of our test subjects. Gratitude." She watched as he paced around the room and looked over each of the teens in containment pods. "I assume it would interest you to know that in this lab we are concentrating on the awakening of the meta-gene. We're attempting to stimulate the budding of powers in average humans."

Kaldur turned to her with a curious expression. "But Lagoon Boy is not a human, and he already has powers."

"Yes but his powers are rooted in sorcery. Aside from that, he is an average Atlantean is he not? We believe he is an even more fascinating subject because Atlanteans have evolved into many subspecies. This evolution could potentially involve the meta-gene in some way." She then directed him down the hall followed by the Ambassador. "Now in this lab, we research those with active meta-genes and how their bodies respond to certain levels of stress." She presented Beast Boy and Impulse as they were being out right tortured with electrical shocks. Kaldur seemed quite successful in keeping his calm and apathetic expression. "The goal is to learn whether these abilities can be extracted or duplicated."

Kaldur quickly understood what she meant. "I see, you wish to weaponize the meta-gene."

The scientist seemed surprised at his understanding as she turned to her superior. "You never mentioned he was clever." Once they left that room they headed across the hall to a room that held a green tinged glow to it. There were vials of green liquid on tables along with several unidentifiable subjects inside pods. "In this lab, we have started a rather recent project." She directed his attention towards a screen. "Though we had every intention of investigating the meta-gene, we were surprised to find another valuable resource on this planet." Kaldur approached a large pod which only left a small sliver of an opening to see. "It has been a somewhat difficult process to use this protoplasmic based power and so we have been using our failed subjects from the meta-gene lab."

Kaldur raised a hand to his chin. "I could only assume you have garnered ample information on the subject."

She gave a nod. "Indeed. We have been given much from Plasmius. Do you wish to see?" She asked with an evil smirk that still kept clear and calm. She pressed a single button on the monitor and the coverings for the pod in front of Kaldur receded half way. He seemed surprised for a moment before his composure returned. "This one can be weaponized by itself without a need for extraction. A much more interesting prospect don't you agree?" She asked without expecting an answer. He was then guided back down the hall where the scientist entered another lab by herself. "A pleasure meeting you Kaldur'am." The door then closed behind her.

"Blue Beetle is unaccounted for. Am I to assume he is inside this fourth lab?" Kaldur questioned courteously.

"That is none of your concern and frankly, so is Blue Beetle. He may be human, but he is of the reach." The ambassador informed as he guided the young Atlantean away. "As you say."

* * *

Star City – March 30

The team had just infiltrated a shipment of new subjects overseen by Tigress. After Nightwing saw that the ship they were in was heading for Lagoon Boy's tag he let out a sigh of relief. "Good, they're headed straight for Lagoon Boy."

"How do you know that?" Wonder Girl asked in confusion.

Nightwing easily caught his slip. "Wishful thinking?"

"And the shipment at the dock?"

"Aquaman ran across the intel while searching for Lagoon Boy." He quickly explained before turning to his right where Danny was floating invisibly. Though he couldn't see the halfa, Danny was ready and waiting to move in once they got close enough to their destination. It didn't take too long for a strange alien ship to come into view. It appeared like some sort of bug on the ocean floor. "That ship has the same alien design sensibility as the bomb on both Malina island and Mt. Justice." Nightwing analyzed aloud with his arms crossed.

"It kinda reminds me of Blue's armor." Wonder Girl thought aloud."

Nightwing took another glance to his right and gestured with his shoulder while playing it off as a stretch. Danny took his que and flew intangibly and invisibly through the ship and into the water. With his ghost form oxygen wasn't something he required as much as in his human form and with his intangibility, the depth pressure of the ocean had no real effect. He heard Nightwing send out Miss Martian just before he fell out of ear shot. "Alright…. So where to start looking…" He mumbled to himself as he entered the ship. He felt the mental link reverberate through the area as Miss Martian made contact with the inside team.

"_Alpha squad, I'm heading into the alien ship now, are you aboard?" _

_"Affirmative." _Batgirl answered back as she took in her surroundings. "_We appear to be inside some sort of docking bay. We have a visual on the new alien's, aka the krolotean's competitor, aka the Light's partner."_ She then pulled back into her pod a bit more as she noticed a familiar face. "_And we've got other company. It's Aqua Lad, if he makes us, we're over."_

"_Stay welmed."_ Nightwing instructed. "_He won't be looking for you. Just don't attract attention."_

Danny was relatively surprised at how easy his mission had just become. "Wow…. Fastest search mission ever." He quickly headed through towards where he felt the voice came from.

Miss Martian went further into the ship and found Gar and Bart inside pods. "_I found Gar and Bart, they're unconscious but Alive. No sign of Jaime or La'gann."_

"_We've got eyes on La'gann."_ Batgirl interjected over the mental link. "_And shimmer?... Plus five civilians and all the teens we came with."_ She watched as the aliens left the room after placing the final pods down. "_We're unsupervised now, but Blu's still unaccounted for and escape could trigger a response. Do we wait?"_

Nightwing traded a glance with Wonder girl before answering. "_Negative Alpha. Make your move before you need rescuing too. You too Miss M. Get our boys."_

Danny listened quietly as he searched down the halls for Kaldur. He was lucky enough to find him alone just as the alarm began to sound. The Atlantean didn't show any alarm at all when the warning sounded but just kept going down the hall. He did, however, show surprise to hear a voice out of nowhere. "Yo Aqua Lad." It was a whisper, but it was calm. He paused and looked around. "Just keep walking and act like I'm not here."

Kaldur did as requested, but posed a question. "And who might I be talking to?"

Danny wore an invisible smirk at the young man's composure in the situation. "I hope that kick I gave you didn't leave a mark." Danny said with a slight chuckle.

"Phantom." He deduced with a pause.

"Oh hold up, keep walking and act normal. I'm here to get info for Nightwing."

Kaldur raised a brow but kept it restrained. "So you have been let in on our plans then?"

"Yeah… well I actually eves dropped but I'm helping out. Right now the rest of the team is recovering all the people and our captured teammates. Nightwing wants an update on what the Light and its partner are up to."

He gave a slight nod as to not alert the passing guards. "I have not been informed of too much, but the Reach, as they call themselves, are the light's partner. They are researching the meta-genes found in humans."

Danny raised a brow in curiosity. "Meta-gene? I think that's what the Krolotean's were looking at too."

"Yes. They seek to weaponize it. The potential of extracting such abilities could prove very dangerous. They even seem to be working on something else." He gave a side glance to where he could only guess Phantom was floating. "Before, I was specifically requested to bring you here along with Blue Beetle. It seems they are not only interested in the Meta-gene but the powers of what you would call ghosts as well. They have been using several of the human subjects for research on it."

Danny cut his eyes at the thought. "Shit…. These aliens have no idea what they're messing with."

Kaldur seemed confused by his response. "They seemed to have already become successful in at least one subject-"

"You!" They both heard as they entered a T intersection. Miss Martian and Beast Boy dashed down the hall catching both of them slightly off guard. The two took defensive stances as Miss Martian's eyes glowed with anger. "Murderer!"

Kaldur could feel her mental powers pushing into his mind. Danny, being so close to Kaldur, felt it coming on too and a feeling of dread swept over him. Once the Atlantean was on his knees Danny felt he had to intervene and phased right into Kaldur. "STOP!" He shouted as he fell into the rush of memories. Miss Martian seemed too intent on payback to hear as she pushed harder. "I have to stop her before she goes too far." He told himself as he fully overshadowed the Atlantean and pushed back with his supernatural force. Miss Martian was instantly taken aback by the change as Kaldur's memories shifted to those of a strangers. Several moments flashed before her eyes as she watched some men with white suits give chase. Then it shifted to some familiar faces as she saw Artemis place a necklace around her neck that changed her appearance. She gave a surprised gasp as the memory shifted again and she felt a piercing gaze come over her. "GET OUT!" All of a sudden she was inside something metal that seemed slightly familiar as a bright flash surrounded her. She collapsed to the floor as the memory of pain shot through as if it were her own.

Beast Boy instantly jumped to her side as she screamed in agony. "Mg'ann!" He shouted as he picked her up.

Artemis dashed up to Kaldur from behind as he still sat on his knees. "Kaldur!" She cried as she kneeled beside him.

"_Artemis?"_ She heard in a weak cry telepathically.

She turned to see a very weak Mg'ann with a sorrowful look on her face. "_How…what?"_ She then felt a hand on her shoulder as Kaldur tried to stand up. "Kaldur." Beast Boy turned in anger to him and transformed into a tiger. Tigress threw down a smoke bomb to cut him off. "I take mine and you take yours!"

The green teen didn't take it too happily as he tried to push through the smoke. "Sorry BB but we need to go this way!" Danny shouted as he grabbed up the cat as he transformed back into the much lighter teen. He then grabbed Miss Martian in his free hand and flew as fast as he could down the hall.

"Danny!? When did you get here?"

"I've kind of been here, but more on that later."

"But Aqua Lad's getting away!"

Danny shook his head. "No worries, I took care of him. Also, we have to get out of here. Last I heard, they were losing the Docking bay and we don't want to hold them up!"

Beast Boy let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine…" He grumbled.

"_You knew?"_ Danny felt the weak thought as Miss Martian straightened herself up in his grasp.

"_Later…." _He responded back mentally as he continued to fly them both down a corridor.

* * *

Back inside the docking bay, Black Beetle seemed to be enjoying himself greatly as he felled one hero after another. He had just pined Robin to a wall when he turned to see Shimmer knock out a boy who tried to fire a blaster at him. She gave him a nod and he understood she was on his side. She then started a match with Bat Girl and was quickly able to push her back. She gave her a confident smirk as the young heroine stood to fight again.

As she prepared to counter another attack she found her feet being swept out from under her from behind. "I don't know why they should have even bothered letting you out!" She turned to see a darkly dressed teen holding up one of the Red Beetle lances. Though rather surprised at the assist by the civilian, Batgirl took her chance and attacked again. Wonder Girl and Super Boy were quick to tackle Black Beetle as he prepared a shot at the now uneven fight.

* * *

Beast Boy was now running down the hall himself in the form of a Gorilla as Danny carried the still weakened Miss Martian. He stopped at the door blocking the entrance to the bay and turned with a frown. "_Come on M'gann, could you at least get the mental link up!?"_ He paused in his own surprise. "_Oh.. thanks."_ He turned back to the door. "_Now come on! We're sealed out of the docking bay!"_

Danny wore a smirk. "Sealed huh?"

He set down Miss Martian and she seemed to be able to stand. "I can…. Density shift…." She said as she floated up and through the door. Both boys paniced though as she she stopped midway and seemed to pass out. "_M'gann!"_

Danny tried to grab her out from the door but could touch her due to her density being different. "Crap! Beast Boy, catch her." He commanded as he flew up and touched a separate section of the door. He let intangibility take it as it flowed to where Miss Martian was held.

She easily fell out of the door and her density shifted back in the young changeling's arms. It was then that they heard loud banging coming from the other side. "What's going on in there!?" He shouted as he held M'gann and set her against the wall.

"No way to tell." Danny responded as he raised his fingers to his mouth. He let out a loud whistle. "But I know reinforcements are probably in order. Stay here and watch Miss Martian. I might be able to get the doors open and then you need to get her to the ship." He then flew through the door himself and didn't seem to be impeded by the door at all.

The young teen heard a groan as the mental link came back up and he saw M'gann's eyes open. "Hold on sis."

"_Alpha! What's your status!?"_ Nightwing demanded over the link.

"_Wonder Girl just went down!"_ Bat girl responded. "_I'm fighting Shimmer and Black Beetle. One of the civilians is helping me out but everyone else is down. We're not going to last much longer at this rate."_

Nightwing banged on the door in frustration. "Damn it…." He was interrupted by a loud bark as Cujo came dashing through the ship. "What!?" He moved out of the way just in time for the spectral hound to phase through the door. His first attack was aimed at Shimmer as she tried to retaliate against the darkly dressed teen. As she was caught off guard, Bat Girl was able to knock her out with a kick. "Good dog." She praised as Cujo turned to face Black Beetle.

"A Protoplasmic pet?" He started with a laugh. "It will make no difference." He responded cockily to the monster hound.

"You don't know my dog!" Danny shouted to him from behind. He tackled him, but was easily pushed off by the superior physical might of the alien. He formed a canon and fired at the halfa as Danny tried to recompose himself. The shot was off though, as Cujo rammed the armored alien as it fired. He then grabbed Black Beetle in his teeth and threw him against the wall. "He's tougher than you think." Danny informed as Cujo ran to his side.

Black Beetle was angry as he picked himself up from the ruble. "It seems he is of more use than I first thought."

"Jealous?" Danny quipped back as he readied to fight.

The alien smirked and chuckled. "No. Why should I be jealous, when I have a pet of my own?"

The door opened from behind the halfa and several members of his team ran through. Blue Beetle led the way and opened the door to the docking bay. "Move! Hurry!" Beast Boy carried Miss Martian on his shoulder as he ran through back in the form of a gorilla.

"The hunter is coming!" Bart shouted in a panicked tone as he dashed through himself. He grabbed Lagoon Boy and ran into the ship while Nightwing went for Super Boy.

Danny felt his ghost sense crawl up his spine as a loud growl was heard coming from where they just exited. "No…"

Black Beetle chuckled. "Didn't think of that did you?" He then turned to Blu who was resting on a wall. "Now Little Brother, one way or another, I am putting you back on mode."

Danny narrowed his eyes at the monstrous creature that ran down the hall towards them. Cujo made a pounce for it but was knocked aside easily by the new ghosts horns. "Cujo!" Danny's worry was short as the ghost quickly moved onto him. With a twist of its tail Danny was knocked aside as well. He grabbed for his right arm as he felt the needles sink in. From the ground he could see exactly what it was that he was fighting. It was green and stood on two legs. The fur it wore was more like razor sharp quills and they grew longer at the end of its tail. "Just great…" He mumbled to himself as he flew back up.

He dodged the creatures second charge and blasted it back with his ghost ray. "Not going to do that again you mutant freak!" He then had to dodge again as the two armored Beetles clashed through the room as well. It was after this pause that he saw the new hole in the hull formed by Shimmer and realized the fight was not going to end well. "Come on Blu! We have to go!" He looked around and saw that only Cujo was left in the room and flew down for him. The new ghost wasn't going to make it easy though as it started to fire several of it quills at the halfa. He felt another one in his leg and griped in pain. "Those hurt you know!" He then fired and ice blast to freeze the specter's arms up.

* * *

Beast Boy was bringing in Robin who was pinned to a wall earlier by Black Beetle. "That's everyone but Blu and Phantom!"

Bart quickly dashed back through. "I'm going back in for 'em!" The water cut him off as it's flow increased.

"Nightwing we need to close the hatch now! The water is flooding our hull!"

"Acknowledged!" He responded as the doors summarily closed.

"But what about Blu and Danny!?" Beast Boy shouted in worry.

"It won't do us any good if we're flooded or crushed by the pressure at this depth!" Bat Girl reasoned in a commanding tone.

The ship detached and started to distance itself from the alien craft just as Danny flew through the door. He had Blu and Cujo in hand as he flew the short distance to the Bioship and phased through. "Got 'em!" He let out as he dropped to the floor of the cargo bay very out of breath. As he sat up he felt a piercing gaze and turned his head. The reaction was immediate, but silent as he saw Sam was watching him from the far wall.

He was about to finally say something before he was interrupted by Impulse. "Oh man that was awesome!" He cheered as he grabbed for Blue Beetle.

"Nice going Phantom." Gar added in as he helped him stand.

"Uh.. no problem…" As much as he wanted to say something to her, he felt he also didn't. He'd been worried all this time, but now it was…. Shame maybe? Of not going to her before? Of not stopping her from being abducted? And maybe something else too.

Gar helped him up to the cockpit while Bart carried Blue Beetle. After taking a seat in one of the chairs Nightwing raised a brow at him. "What happened?"

Danny pulled out one of the quills in his leg and winced as he did so. "I got into a fight with a mutant porcupine." He then turned to Blu who was being placed in a chair by Bart. "How's Blu?"

"Out." The speedster informed. "What happened in there?"

Danny pulled out another quill before answering. "As it was filling up with water, he was still fighting that Black Beetle. They ended the whole thing by firing off these huge plasma guns and I was able to grab him before he got swept up in the current. It was pretty intense." He then pulled out the last one he could see and moved on to his arm.

"Whoa! It's me! It's me!" Jaime shouted as he finally woke up and the armor receded.

"Of course." Bart consoled with a smirk allowing Jaime to relax a bit in his chair.

Nightwing gave an approving nod as his team seemed to be fine. "Mission accomplished everyone. Well done. Care to take the controls Miss M?" He asked the young Martian as La'gann draped his arms around her. She was still very out of it as she remained silent.

Beast Boy wore a worried expression. "I think you better keep them. Something weird happened when we ran into Aqua Lad in the ship."

Danny had just finished getting the quills off his arm as he interjected. "That was me then. I was overshadowing Aqua Lad when you guys showed up. I tried to get her to stop but when she went full mental assault on me I had to push back. She didn't give me much of a choice."

Beast Boy furrowed his brow. "You what?"

"I possessed him."

Beast Boy paused for thought. "What were you doing inside Aqua Lad?"

"I didn't even know he was on this mission." Bat Girl added in.

Nightwing took this moment to interrupt. "I sent him in to try and figure out a bit more on these new partners. While we rescued La'gann and the others, he was gathering intel from around that ship."

Danny gave a nod. "I figured overshadowing Aqua Lad would be a good way to poke around without catching too much attention since he wasn't one of the aliens."

Beast Boy still seemed annoyed as he reached for one of the quills on the back of the halfa's shoulder. "Still could have told us."

"Ow!" Danny griped as he rubbed the sore spot. "That wasn't my call."

"I figured you would be able to concentrate more if you didn't have to think about him." Nightwing explained with an apologetic expression.

Beast Boy gave a shrug and let it go before holding the long quill up in his hands. "Oh!" He turned to M'gann. "Look sis, it's a souvenir."

* * *

Mt. Justice – March 31

"They're called the Reach." Danny started to explain during the debriefing. "They partnered with the Light for new subjects for research. From what I could figure out, they seemed to be trying to turn the meta-gene into a weapon."

Nightwing gave a nod. "So they're trying to find them in humans and then turn them into weapons?"

"That could explain why they're grabbing so many kids." Bat Girl added in. "Kids adapt better than adults."

"Most likely." Nightwing agreed. "The Kroloteans grabbed people of any age, but these new aliens seemed smarter than that."

"Yeah, way smarter." Danny started again. "They also had another project too, one that I got to see up close and personal. They had a ghost in there."

"So that was what that thing was?" Bat Girl asked with shared surprise along with Nightwing.

"Yeah." The halfa nodded. "The Black Beetle called it his pet. That thing was tough too, knocked Cujo to the side like he was nothing and used me as a pin cushion."

The leader wore a grave expression as he turned to the consol. "This is not good." He then started typing. "Is that everything?"

Danny took a moment to think. "Yeah, that's all I have, though I guess some good news would be they only have that one, but I didn't get to see everything before I ran into Miss Martian."

Nightwing let out a sigh. "Alright then. I'll inform the league. You two should get some rest."

Bat Girl left but Danny stayed behind. "Uh… by the way…"

The vigilante turned to him with a raised brow. "What is it?"

"Uh… where are the others? Those people we rescued... Gar, Impulse, Blu?"

Nightwing turned back to the screen. "They were brought to a facility by Star Labs. Black Canary is going to be talking with them about what happened while they we held on the ship."

Danny let out a groan. "Counseling….. They're not going to be happy about that." He then turned and left the briefing room with one last grumble. "She's not going to happy about that at all…"

* * *

**Okay so that's another one down. Hopefully things are really getting your interest now. Sam's been found since she was one of the teens kidnapped for the Reach. The Reach also seem to be dabbling in ghosts too, that's going to prove fascinating. Also note that scene with Miss Martian and Kaldur went very differently. How does that effect the story? You'll find out later. Also, if your interested in the ghost, I drew a picture of him and I'll post it on my dA when I'm done coloring him. There's a link on my profile page for those who want to see it.=^-^=**

**As always, reviews are appreciated and questions are welcome. I always love to know how I'm doing with the story and how you feel about the changes I've made to the YJ story line.=^-^=**


	10. Chapter 10 - Conflictions

**So a new chapter fresh out of my brain. I'm adding in a bit more with Sam and how she fits in along with some stuff about Impulse I hinted at before. I'll explain more below for those who may still have questions after reading the chapter. This one covers the events of Cornered.=^-^=**

**Ch. 10 - Conflictions**

* * *

Taos – April 1

The teens sat in the hall as they awaited their turns to be called in. Black Canary was doing psychiatric evaluations on each of them to garner more of an idea of what happened while they were taken captive. Blu was trying hard not to look over towards his friend Tye since he wasn't supposed to know him as Blue Beetle. Tye on the other hand was watching him with agitation, a sentiment held by the other teens as well.

The oldest of the group, the darkly dressed Sam Manson was more annoyed by the speedster though as he won't stop taking glances at her. She let it go for about ten minutes before she stood up and approached him. "All right. What's your deal?" She demanded in irritation.

Bart was a bit short for words at the sudden approach. "I uh…. What do you mean?"

She cut her eyes. "I'm talking about how you keep looking at me! Cut it out!"

He raised his hand defensively. "I wasn't… I was just looking around." He wore a sheepish expression as the teen seemed to not believe a word of it. Tension was already high in the hall, and a few of the others seemed to be getting restless themselves.

"Whoa, hold on there." They all heard from the other end of the hall. Danny was walking towards them with a negotiating air about him. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, so why don't you sit down and take a breath."

Sam cut her eyes at him, quickly dismissing the young speedster in favor of someone she was even angrier at. "Oh right, your all about letting things go. Hopefully if you ignore it long enough, it'll just go away." She griped at him.

The conversation was cut short as Virgil exited the room and Black Canary walked out behind. She was able to see the tense situation clearly and so she called in the next teen. "Samantha? Could you come in next?" She gave the boy one last glare before turning to the Leaguer. Danny's expression was apologetic as he watched her practically stomp into the room, though the silence of it was quite a feat in her combat boots.

He let out a sigh as he decided to take a seat next to Blu. "What was that about ese?"

Danny leaned back with his head on the wall. "It was Karma coming back to haunt me."

* * *

Inside the office Sam sat with her arms crossed while tightly gripping the ends of her long sleeves and head turned towards the window. Black Canary was very prepared for the closed off emotions of the teens, but this one was slightly different. Sam seemed more angry than hurt or even traumatized though that could be hidden. "Are you going to start your questions now? I really would prefer not to spend all day in here."

There was venom in her tone but the blonde knew it wasn't for her. "Of course. We only want to try and understand what happened to you."

Sam raised an agitated brow as she turned to her. "I was abducted and used as an alien test subject. Next question."

Black Canary was more than a bit surprised at how blunt she was about it. The other teens didn't really seem to have a full handle of what it was that was happening. "Do you know why they picked you?"

Sam shrugged. "Don't know."

She remained silent after that prompting Black Canary to start the conversation again. "What were they doing? Do you remember?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "The same thing they did to everyone else. You've already talked to the others right? What's the point in asking me the same questions when you're going to get the same answers?"

The woman sighed as she weaved her fingers together. "We only want to make sure that you are all alright."

"I'm fine." The goth said quickly. "Now can I go? The last thing I want to do is sit here playing twenty questions with you and that damn camera." She stood up restlessly, but didn't move to the door.

"Hold on." Canary protested as she too stood. "Could we just sit and talk a little bit more? I know the trauma you've experienced is-"

Sam turned to her with a piercing gaze. "Know what? I really don't care about any of it!" She turned towards the door but didn't walk from her spot. "All I know is that I'm not a test subject anymore."

Black Canary took a seat against the front of her desk and faced Sam. "I understand you don't want to talk about it. Not many people would….." She then gave a pause. "What did they do to make you think it was some sort of test?"

Sam felt the psychological tug and let out an exasperated sigh. "Because.." She began with a roll of her eyes. "They were picking and choosing. All the people they brought in were tested, shocks, lights, whatever they could think of." She lowered her head. "And all through that, several of the people were taken away. Aliens or not, I could tell when they were disappointed. Anyone they took away…. Never came back." She then turned back to the young leaguer. "So why keep some of us? The answer is easy; we had what they wanted."

Black Canary raised a hand to her chin in thought. She found herself glancing over to her desk where a ball of paper clips lay statically stuck together. "Meta…. Meta-gene?"

Sam raised a brow. "What?"

Canary quickly dismissed the thought. "Oh… nothing. I just thought back to something a friend of mine mentioned."

Sam was annoyed by her keeping secrets and moved over to the door. "Well whatever, I'm out of here. I was on my way somewhere before those alien jerks grabbed me and I still plan to get there."

"Hold on." Black Canary requested as she intercepted the teen at the door. "We can't release you just yet."

"The heck you can't." Sam interjected as she reached around the woman.

"Please." The blonde reinforced as she grabbed her by the wrist. "We just need to know all the facts. We want to make sure you are all alright."

"I don't need anyone to watch out for me!" Sam responded as she ripped her arm away being careful to keep her sleeve down. Her temper had finally flared up with her verbal lash and Black Canary couldn't help but take a step back. Something didn't feel quite right just then, but it quickly passed as Sam's anger receded into surprise. She turned back towards the door. "I'll wait in the hall." She then quietly stepped out thinking to herself as Black Canary was left to her own thoughts.

"What was that?" She questioned as she turned back towards the desk. She couldn't really explain it herself, but she instinctively felt threatened somehow. As she walked back over to her desk she finally noticed the strangest thing she'd seen. Somehow, between Virgil leaving and Sam leaving, the camera's lens had cracked. She picked it off the tripod and inspected it carefully as she thought over what the teens had told her. Nightwing's report from the previous night then flashed through her mind and her eyes widened at the thought.

Back out in the hall all eyes were on Sam since most had heard the commotion inside the room. She simply ignored their looks though in favor of finding Danny again. Her irritation seemed to return when she realized he was nowhere to be seen. She took her seat back in the hall quietly and gazed across at the now empty seat just across from her. Blu and Impulse watched her curiously as if her gaze would suddenly burn through the chair. Meanwhile Danny sat invisibly in that very chair just trying to look at anything but her face. He'd turned invisible when he saw the door open much to everyone else's surprise, but when Blu asked him about it, he remained silent.

* * *

Later that night the other teens had been taken somewhere else while the team heroes waited to be interviewed next. Beast Boy was first followed by Impulse in much the way the kidnapped teens had earlier that day. When Impulse exited the office Black Canary called in Lagoon Boy next. Blu instantly jumped to Bart in worry and pulled him around the corner. "What'd you tell her ese?"

Bart looked a bit insulted as he answered. "About you betraying mankind and causing a Reach apocalypse." Blu's eyes widened a bit before the smirk on Bart's face revealed the deception. "Nada amigo. You see I don't really know what causes it to happen and for all I know it's the league finding out, so I say we say nothing to no one." He suggested as he pat Blu's shoulder in comfort.

"Is that really a wise policy?" The two of them turned to see Phantom leaning against the hall with a calculating expression. "How do you know that keeping it a secret won't make it happen?"

Impulse furrowed his brow at the question. "But what if it doesn't?"

"That's my point. Basing your theory on what if's won't get you anywhere. What exactly are you guys talking about anyway?... Something to do with the future maybe?" Danny was always suspicious of the speedster in how he acted from the second he arrived. His suspicions were increased the more he thought about Clockwork's mark. Clockwork doesn't let just anyone jump through time especially not a tourist.

Impulse walked a bit closer and sighed. "I guess you caught me then…. Yeah."

He didn't seem too broken up about it which surprised Blu. "What are you doing ese?"

He pat the armored teen's shoulder. "No worries hermano. Phantom is cool for sure. Right?" He asked the halfa as he turned back to him.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but explain a bit more. What exactly happens in your time?"

Impulse nodded and began to explain his story of how Blu somehow fell under the Reach's control and helped to enslave the human race. "That's why I came back. I knew if I could keep Blue Beetle from feelin the mode the Reach wouldn't take over."

Danny took a moment to understand the information as he was told, but it was a bit much for him. "So how exactly does that do anything? Do you know how the Reach takes over? How does Blu help them do it?"

"Yeah ese, what about the other heroes?" Blu added in with his own curiosity.

Bart scratched his head a bit. "From what I was told, most of them weren't even here."

"Rimbor…" Danny figured out quickly. "They were called to Rimbor for trial."

Bart nodded. "Yeah, and after that, the Reach didn't have much difficulty with the rest. I wasn't given a lot of details, but I was told about you Blu. That's why I believe you couldn't have done any of that without something big going down to cause it." He finished as he turned to his friend.

"Oh man…." He responded without much else.

"You're right about that I guess. I can't really imagine Jaime doing that…. But maybe the Scarab?"

Blu instantly shook his head. "No way ese. I know it sounds weird but the Scarab is just as against them as I am. It's like they can't control it or something. They talked about getting it back on mode on that ship."

Impulse turned to him in confusion. "So the Scarab's the one they want to get on mode?" Impulse asked as he looked over his shoulder at the blue pack. "Makes sense I guess. Maybe it's like mind control or something?"

Danny let out a sigh. "It would certainly help if we had some more answers. Considering you went as far as time travel, I wish you could've gotten a bit more to work with."

Impulse turned to him with a defensive expression. "Come on man, I wasn't even alive for most of it. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's you for not giving me more before I left… opps…." He regretted as he covered his mouth.

Danny's eyes widened. "What was that? I was there?"

Impulse groaned as he nodded. "He warned me about this too….." He then composed himself. "Alright yeah, but I can't tell you any more than that. Besides, it may not even be happening anymore."

"Why is that ese? I mean if all this other stuff is still going down, then why not Phantom's stuff?"

Bart crossed his arms in frustration. "I can't really explain it, but I know it's not a good idea. We should just keep all this between us. I don't want the league being the reason that Scarab gets moded."

Danny and Blu looked at him a moment before the halfa let out a sigh. "Fine, I won't say anything about it."

Impulse let out a breath of relief. "I knew you were cool man."

"But I really think Blu should be the one who decides what to do." He then turned to the young hero. "A wise ghost once told me your future isn't set in stone. Your choice matters Jaime." A strange tone then started as Danny reached down to his waist. "Sorry guys, but I have to take this. Just keep what I said in mind alright?" He requested as he started down the hall as he answered the phone. Jaime watched him in contemplation while Impulse looked towards him with an uneasy expression.

* * *

Bludhaven – April 1

Mal returned to the temporary HQ Nightwing had set up for them while the cave was under construction. Since his proposed arrangements with Bumble Bee had hit a wall he didn't really have much choice in the matter. He arrived just as several of the others were watching G. Gordan further flush the reputation of the league. "So where's Mg'ann?"

Nightwing gave a shrug as he explained. "She said it reminded her too much of a boy's dorm, and as much as she likes the smell of unwashed socks…." He trailed off as his point was made.

"Hmmm…." Mal then turned towards the lower area with the beds and spotted a familiar green pooch sleeping on one. "So Phantom around here too?"

Beast Boy gave a nod. "Yeah, he came by earlier after he heard about the Hall. I'm not really sure where he went though." He revealed with curiosity in his tone. As Gar headed down to the beds next to Mal, Cujo jumped to life on the bed. Wolf was next to become alert as both of then turned towards the door with expectant looks.

The knock came quickly after which preceded the door opening without waiting for a response. A man dressed in gold adornments stepped through. His most notable features included a toga, gold winged shoes and a gold winged helm to match. "My my, not really what I expected." He stated as he readjusted his bag which sat over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Nightwing asked in a calm yet defensive manner as he jumped down to meet their unexpected visitor. Wolf followed him down with a growl, but dared not get too close.

"Hmm? Oh yes, where are my manners? Hermes, courier of gods, but that's common knowledge no?" He then looked around a bit. "As for my business here….. I don't suppose one of you would be Phantom?"

Most of them traded glances about the room while Nightwing crossed his arms. If he was who he said he was, it easily explained how he knew to come here, but it still bothered the young vigilante. "He's not here right now."

The god seemed annoyed by that revelation as he rolled his eyes. "It would seem so. Honestly how does anyone expect me to deliver anything if they keeping moving around?" His complaints seemed to stem from many different experiences. "Do you know where I can find him now then?"

Nightwing gave it a bit of thought before turning towards Gar who was the last one to talk to him before he left. "He never told me, but he should come back eventually." He then pointed towards the bed where Cujo sat in attention.

"That will suffice then. I have wasted enough time looking, and I have many other deliveries to make." He pulled out a scroll and a box and handed them off to Nightwing rather hastily. "The scroll is from Pandora. She told me he'd requested it from her some time ago. The box is a little something I picked up on my way out of the Infinite Realms. Queen Dorathea seemed rather adamant he get it as soon as possible." He then began to readjust his bag. "Normally I don't take requests like that, but I can't turn down a party invitation now can I?" He mused to himself as he left seeming rather satisfied.

As soon as the door closed Gar ran up to Nightwing to get a look at what he was given. "So what is this stuff?"

Nightwing raised a brow as he looked over the scroll. "Not sure." He handed the box to Gar to hold so that he could try and open the scroll, but it seemed stuck. "I can't even open it."

"I'll get it open." Super Boy offered as he approached his teammate.

"Actually, I think we should just wait for Phantom. While I'm sure you could get it open, we don't need to."

Conner shrugged and accepted the response with no hesitance. "Whatever."

"Whoa…. Check this out." Gar called as he pulled a golden medallion from the box he'd been holding.

"Garfield!" Nightwing called as he watched the teen place it around his neck. "You need to put that back."

Garfield looked down at it in awe. "I was just looking Nightwing." He then pulled it off. "But you gotta wonder why some queen is sending something like this to Danny." He seemed mesmerized by the pattern on the amulet which seemed to resemble an eye.

Nightwing held the box under the amulet with a stern expression. "Yes, but you could have just waited. You don't know what it is."

Gar set the necklace back into the box gently with a sheepish expression. "Noted…."

Nightwing then proceeded to place both items on the bed next to Cujo. When he turned back towards the loft area where the news continued to play he found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. "What a night." Mal let out as he placed his box onto one of the beds.

* * *

"You planning on coming in sometime tonight?" Nightwing asked as he opened the door to the temporary base to find Phantom standing outside looking around the docks. He'd spotted Cujo pacing around the door impatiently, but given that Phantom had ordered him to stay inside, the dog didn't go out. Once the door was opened, however, he darted out happily and ran around the feet of his master.

"Maybe….." He sounded very distracted which is how he'd been when he first showed up at their temporary sleeping quarters. Once he found out everything was fine, all things considered, he'd left again soon after.

"What's up? I certainly hope it's not the smell. Mg'ann already used that one." He asked with obvious sarcasm.

"Considering I've spent several hours inside a gym locker on more than one occasion, I can't really complain about that. No, I was just thinking about something." He then turned to him. "So were you waiting for me or is it just a habit for you to be up all night?" He mostly meant that sarcastically since he already knew how often Nightwing was up all night.

"Both actually, but couldn't I say the same for you? It's two in the morning."

Danny walked over to the doorway as Nightwing gestured him inside. "Habits die hard I guess. So why were you waiting for me?"

The leader pointed to the bed Cujo had claimed hours before. "You got mail."

Danny wore a bewildered expression as he looked over to the bed. "I got what? I don't even know the address on this place."

"Hermes delivered it."

"Who?"

Nightwing raised a brow. "The messenger of the gods in Greek mythology."

Danny's lips formed an 'o' as he lifted the scroll of the bed. "Then this must be from Pandora. I'd almost forgotten I asked her to help me find something." Danny turned it over in his hands a few times before pulling the ball at each end and twisting them in opposite directions. The container opened easily after that and an aged scroll sat neatly inside.

"What exactly is this for?"

Danny pulled out the scroll along with a smaller note tucked inside. "You remember that mission in Biyalia where only girls could go? Bat Girl found some weird ruins and showed me some pictures. Pandora's a ghost I know with an extensive and ancient library so I told her I'd see if I couldn't get some more info on them." He then proceeded to look over the smaller note which seemed to be from Pandora concerning the scroll.

Nightwing took a look over his shoulder and was surprised to find it written in some Greek script. "What is that?"

Danny turned to him and raised a brow. "What the writing? I'm not really sure what it's called but it is some form of modern Greek." Nightwing couldn't help but chuckle at that. "What?"

"You don't know who Hermes is but you can read Greek?"

Danny wasn't as amused at the insinuation as he handed the scroll to him. "I learned it out of necessity actually. Her acropolis is pretty big and the only way to get around is to know how to read it. Otherwise you'll find yourself lost, and that's the best case scenario trust me. Anyway could you get this to Bat Girl? She'll probably have to translate it, but it should be helpful." He then paused a moment before continuing. "And I would appreciate it if she was careful with it…. It's really old and Pandora promised to feed me to her three headed dog if it gets damaged."

Nightwing seemed a bit surprised at the serious request, but gave a nod anyway. "No problem." He then pointed to the box. "What about that?"

Danny looked down at it curiously. "I don't really know…. Did Pandora send this too?"

Nightwing shook his head. "No, it was sent by-"

"Dora.." Danny finished for him as he pulled the amulet out of the box.

"Yeah, so you know her?"

Danny gave a nod as he looked at the amulet with a grave expression. "She's Queen of Eragon."

"And that's in this Infinite Realms place?" Nightwing inquired.

"Yeah, but it's more commonly called the Ghost Zone."

The conversation they had months before popped into his head at that. "So the dimension of ghosts?"

"Yeah, it's also called the Infinite Realms. It's endless and can lead you almost anywhere, but I wouldn't suggest testing that theory unless you have a few hundred years to waste being lost. Anyway, this is an Amulet of Aragon." He started as he held it up. "It's one of two which are worn by Dora and her brother. This one is probably his since she can't afford to just give hers up."

Nightwing seemed intrigued by the information before noticing the note scribbled into the lid of the box. "It's too dangerous to keep them together. I hope you will keep this one safe." He read aloud for Phantom to hear.

"I wonder what has her so worried. Only someone from their family can use the power properly."

"What kind of power exactly?"

Danny moved around the bed to find a thermos to keep the amulet in. "Well, it's enchanted. When the wearer becomes angry, they'll be transformed into one of two different dragons depending on which amulet they wear. Only Dora and her brother actually have any control over what they do when transformed though."

It was obvious Nightwing was slightly put off by that. "What?"

Danny then pulled out his phone. "Hold on, I have a picture." He then flashed the screen to him. "This Argon when he transforms. If this is his amulet, anyone who transforms with it will look like this." The large black dragon in the picture looked more than just angry and if the wearer had any control at all, it's not obvious. He was now really glad he'd kept Garfield from wearing it too long before. Danny then set it into the thermos and locked the lid in place. "As long as it's in here, you shouldn't have to worry about it causing problems."

* * *

Taos - April 2

Captain Atom had just finished going over the incident from the previous night with Black Canary and Nightwing. "I'm hoping you have some good news."

Black Canary gave a nod. "I believe so." She then looked over to Nightwing. "Based on what Phantom gathered, and how it lines up with what the kids told me, I believe we now know for sure what a meta-gene is. A genetic anomaly which allows certain individuals to develop super human abilities when exposed to trauma."

Nightwing raised a brow. "So his assumption of the idea it was an actual gene wasn't off. It makes perfect sense then. That's how they were going to weaponize it. That must be what brought both the Reach and the Kroloteans here to begin with. The Light sending the League out there like that must've been some kind of bait to get us in the Galactic spotlight."

Canary gave him a nod. "More than likely since they are now partnered." Their conversation was then interrupted by Blue Beetle as he entered the room with a serious expression. "Blue Beetle?" Canary questioned as the teen found his way to the center of the room.

"I'm sorry, but I've been hiding something. I just can't keep it, and I know this is the best way to handle it."

Impulse jumped into the room quickly as to stop him seconds later. "Oh Blu blu blu…. What happened to keep quiet?"

He gave a pause as the Scarab seemed to try and talk sense into him as well. "No." He finally said with resolution. "I think Phantom had a point. It's time for the truth ese." He then turned to the others. "Impulse says that sometime in the future I betray earth and bring on a Reach apocalypse. Whether it's the Scarab's doing, or my own, that's not a future I can live with, so whatever it takes, get this Scarab off me."

* * *

**Hope I didn't let anyone down, but the issue with Danny and Sam will come up more later. Sorry if you were expecting it. Also, some of you may have already guess where I'm going with her but if you haven't I guess it's something to look forward too eh? Sam's backstory for this particular cross over has been given a bit of twist. (Sorry I'm a tease...)**

**I added quite a bit to Impulse's back story with the addition of Phantom, but I doubt anyone has really figured it out yet. Just keep it in mind as more comes up later. I plan to give that away soon, but I also might change my mind... I'm weird like that.**

**As of now, I'm not taking suggestions for future pieces of the plot (No pairings or added characters), but you never know what you might incite with a comment.**

**Please feel free to leave comments and questions in a Review. I appreciate all who take the time.=^-^=**


	11. Chapter 11 - Recon

**So I've been really on top of this story for the past few days and I'm not really sure why. I guess maybe it's because I'm putting more and more original content. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I'll go over some of the bigger things at the bottom. This covers the episode 'True Colors' but most is new.=^-^=**

**Ch. 11 - Reconnaissance **

* * *

Taos – April 7

Danny sighed as he sat in an empty hall of Star Labs research center. While most labs really didn't bother him, this one did, if only because of what he'd planned to do here. The teens who had been taken by the Reach were being held here for testing after Black Canary and Nightwing had gone over their deductions about the meta-gene. A few of them had already showed signs of abilities on their first day back; Sam being one of them. "I can't believe it…" He mumbled to himself as he rubbed his temple with one hand. He'd thought it might have been over and Sam could get out of the spotlight, but that idea went out the window and there wasn't much he could do to stop it.

"Phantom?"

He lifted his head to see one of the scientists addressing him. "Uh yes, that's me."

He waved him over. "You have 30 minutes. She's waiting for you in here." He didn't seem too happy about the interruption Danny was causing but it was over his head.

Danny stood up and headed over to the door with a bag in his hand. "Thanks, I appreciate this."

"Uh-huh…" The man grumbled as he strolled away.

Danny took a breath before opening the door to the small conference room. Sam was sitting on the far side of the table in one of the Star Labs jump suits much like the other teens wore; needless to say, she wasn't happy about it. "Hey Sam….." He greeted with failed enthusiasm as he closed the door behind himself. She didn't respond, but she did turn his way. Aside from her anger, there was something else about her he picked up right away. He wasn't sure if it was because of the lighting or maybe it was because he hadn't spent much time with her recently, but he could swear her eyes were…. Darker?

"What?" She asked in irritation towards the confused expression Danny was giving her. "Did you expect me to be happy to see you?"

Danny shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course not….. I was just….."

"Would you spit it out already? I think I've been plenty patient with you." She commanded as she crossed her arms. "I hear nothing from you for about a year, and then suddenly you're right here in front of me. What did you want to say?" She was surprisingly calm as she spoke despite her anger, but Danny's hesitance was still prevalent.

He lifted the bag towards her. "Uh… I brought you a tofu patty melt from that take out place you used to like. It wasn't the same store since it's kinda… rubble… but it's part of the same chain." He explained much to her annoyance.

She let out a sigh as she sat up in her chair and gestured for the bag. Danny brought it over and set it on the table. "Just sit down." She said as more of a request this time. She was more than relieved for the token despite her frustrations for Danny since the scientists weren't very sympathetic towards her vegetarian needs. "Look Danny, Tucker told me most of what was going on since the…. Incident. I just want to hear it from you. What happened? Why won't you talk to me?"

Danny furrowed his brow in frustration as he leaned on his hands. "I…. I wasn't there." He finally let out. "I wasn't there, and then I was so…. Ashamed, I couldn't…. I avoided you." Sam wasn't surprised at all by what he was saying. Tucker had relayed as much when they talked. She already knew Danny was like this even before becoming Phantom. When things happened, he always felt bad especially if he wasn't around to help. He and Tucker were her saving grace in middle school. "And then you were kidnapped….." He let out a sigh. "I'm such an idiot!"

"Yup." She agreed quickly as she took a bite of her favorite take out. Danny felt a small smile tug at his lips when he heard that. That was Sam's way of telling him he finally figured out what he'd done wrong; not to say she wasn't still mad. "So what now?" She asked next. Danny remained quiet as he thought it over. 'What exactly should he do next?' He'd been dreading this conversation for awhile now, but…. "Come on Danny, it's not that hard. What are you going to do with yourself now?"

He lifted his head and raised a brow at her. "Wait…. That's what you meant?"

Sam shook her head with a smirk. "What did you think I was asking?" The transition of several emotions on his face after the question was her proof that he wasn't really sure himself.

He then sat up and let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. "I guess I'm staying on with the team for now." There was something big going on and he'd already made the commitment. There was no way he could just pick up and leave at this point, especially since he still couldn't get back to Amity Park. "I'm sure Tucker told you how I ended up with them, and I kind of enjoy being on their team too." He admitted rather openly. "I never thought I would."

"I could have told you that." Sam stated rather plainly before taking another bite. "You always had this bad tendency to take everything on yourself when things got tough." She paused a moment and gave him a stern look. "I really hope you're working on that."

Danny took the reprimand as it was and gave a nod. "Yeah…." They spent the next fifteen minutes talking about recent events with the team and the Reach. "Then there's that giant porcupine ghost thing….. I don't know what they did, but if they have more? That's going to be annoying." Danny grumbled as he rubbed his arm while remembering the quills.

Sam gave a nod as she remembered that particular creature. She didn't see much of it since Bat Girl had herded her into the ship with the rest, but she saw what it did to Danny. "How did they even make a monster like that?"

Danny had several ideas of how, but none of them gave too many details. 'How exactly did they get enough information about ghosts for that?' Of course with connections to the GIW, that could help. "I called Tuck for some specialized back up. Nightwing called me in for back up on a mission tomorrow."

Sam then shoved the empty take out box back into the bag. "Speaking of later, I'd rather you get me out of here sooner rather than later. I don't want to spend another second being treated like a lab test subject."

"They're just trying to help Sam." Danny tried to reason.

"Don't even go there with me!" Sam snapped back rather suddenly. "I spent weeks with aliens, and now I'm stuck in a science lab under the watchful eye of soulless government scientists!" Danny let out a sigh. He knew she was justified, but he couldn't just break her out of the lab. Sam saw the confliction on his face and grew even angrier. "I can't believe you!"

Danny tried to calm her down. "I'm sorry Sam it's just-"

"No! You of all people should know how I feel!"

"No, this is different Sam-"

"How!?" She demanded as she stood up from her chair. Both of them turned towards the window when they heard the cracking noise. She took a moment to let out a breath before sitting down again.

"I'm sorry Sam." The halfa lamented calmly. "Besides, the GIW wanted to dissect me." He grumbled out under his breath, but Sam could hear all the same. A short silence fell between them after that which Danny was eventually able to break. "Why did you run away?"

Sam sat back in her chair and crossed her arms while tugging at the sleeves. "I had to get out of my house….."

Danny furrowed his brow. "You were barely home a month Sam. Your parents are worried sick about you."

"They aren't my parents." She corrected while turning away.

Danny was bewildered by the statement. "What are you talking about Sam?" He then seemed a bit angry as leaned on the table. "Just because they make you mad doesn't mean-"

"They are not my parents Danny." She finally turned to him with a serious expression. "They are my aunt and uncle." She then let out a sigh and turned away again when Danny's anger faded back to confusion. "They told me when I got out of the hospital. Apparently my grandma never wanted them to tell me, but I…"

"What happened?" Danny implored when she stopped.

Sam gripped her shoulders tightly. "It started out like most of our usual arguments. They found something wrong with what I was wearing, and then my attitude; it wasn't bright enough…. Peppy enough." She enunciated in annoyance. "But grandma wasn't here to diffuse the situation like she normally was….." A depressing tension fell on the room.

"Right she….. with mom and dad right?" Danny asked halfheartedly while already knowing the answer.

She nodded in response before continuing. "It spiraled out of control until she started mentioning some cult. That's when she dropped her sister's name….. or my real mom's name. Her name was Angela, and she left me with grandma right after I was born. She never said who my dad was…." She shook her head and seemed to give him a weak smile. "I always wondered why I had nothing in common with my parents… now it makes sense. All these years they just didn't want me to turn out like my mom." Despite her smile she looked more like she was about to cry.

"Come on Sam, they were just worried."

Sam only laughed at that. "Sam wasn't even supposed to be my name-"

"Sam!" Danny shouted as he cut her off. "Stop it! Your name is Sam. What it was supposed to be doesn't matter. Who your real parents are doesn't matter! Your parents raised you, love you, and they're still alive!"

When she finally looked him in the eye, she felt a wave of regret; not only for her parents, but for his. Her conflictions tightened in knots in her mind as she turned away again. "I'm sorry Danny….. but you don't understand."

"I don't think I want too." He responded in a solemn tone. The knock that came to the door signaled the end of their talk time as Danny stood up from the table again. "I'm gonna call Tuck later. He wanted me to keep him posted."

With that Danny left through the door and was quickly replaced by an irritated scientist. "Alright now Samantha, it's time to continue our exercises."

* * *

Bludhaven – April 8

A few members of the team had already started to gather in the warehouse that functioned as the temporary HQ since the Hall of Justice was destroyed. Jaime and Impulse had just arrived which queued Danny to come down from the loft. Jaime looked up to him with a wave. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Danny held up the metal ring which was his finished portal. "I heard about your problems trying to get the Scarab off. Considering how everything else didn't seem to work, I may have an idea."

Jaime's eyes widened with hope. "Whatever it is I'll do it ese! Anything to get this Scarab off!"

Danny gave a nod and turned to Nightwing. "As long as it doesn't mess up the mission, now would be a good time and it probably won't take long if it works."

The leader took a moment to think about it before agreeing with a nod. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Danny took a moment to stand up the portal before responding. "Well in most cases, I could separate two things like you and the Scarab with my intangibility, but considering how bonded it is to you, I don't plan on trying." He stepped out of the way as the portal expanded. "That being said, I do know a ghost who specializes in technology and he might be able to force the Scarab to release Jaime."

Impulse couldn't help but find the prospect somewhat familiar as he raised a brow. "A technology ghost?"

"Technus!?" Blu blurted out impulsively. Danny let out a sigh and nodded. "But he's crazy!"

Danny once again nodded. "Yeah, he's also eccentric, lacking most common sense, and bent on becoming master of all forms of technology. That being said though, he could help. You'll find that ghosts do things for reasons, though it may not always make sense." Blu seemed apprehensive about getting help from one of Phantom's biggest enemies, but if Phantom wants to try it… he would know right?

Impulse jumped to Phantom's side and pat him on the back. "If Phantom thinks it's a good idea, I say it's worth a shot."

"Alright ese, I'm in."

Danny nodded as he activated the portal. As it charged up several lights on the side of the ring lit up. "Alright, while he's here try not to mention Thomas Edison, or anything involving the light bulb. He's got issues about that." While the four other heroes contemplated that request, Danny watched over the portal as a green burst of energy expanded in the middle and stretched to the rim.

After only a few seconds a green gloved hand reached out to grab the rim. "Well it's about time!" As he pulled himself through he made it a point to look irritated for Danny. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?" The male ghost had green skin and wore a black lab coat with a white cape over it.

Danny simply rolled his eyes at the complaint. "I told you it would be awhile. It's not my fault you have nothing better to do."

The insulted ghost crossed his arms in annoyance. "So, do you have what you promised?"

Danny raised a brow as he whisked out a long metal rod which had a metal ball at the end. "Look familiar?" Technus made a grab for it but Danny pulled it away. "First things first Technus."

With a grunt of frustration he relented to the halfa's request. "Fine. Where exactly is this strange technology you mentioned?"

Danny made a gesture to Jaime who stepped forwards. "Here." He presented by pulling off his sweat shirt to reveal the Scarab latched to his upper back.

"You have to get it off, without hurting Jaime. Think you can do that?"

Technus scrutinized the small device while holding his chin. "That will depend. I have never seen anything quite like this before." After taking a good look for himself, he raised his left hand and touched the Scarab. On contact it appeared as if his fingers melted into the blue metal of the Scarab.

"Whoa…." Jaime stuttered out as he turned to look over his shoulder.

"What's wrong Jaime?" Nightwing questioned as he stepped a bit closer.

"I don't really know it just…. It feels weird."

"Hmm? It would seem this device is bonded with you on a level I didn't expect." Technus admitted as he reached up his other hand to interface with the alien tech. "Perhaps if I-" He cut of as his form was absorbed into the Scarab all together.

Both Jaime and Impulse seemed distraught by the action. "Whoa! Where'd he go!?"

Nightwing seemed just as riled, but when he back glanced to Phantom, he calmed down. "This is supposed to happen?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, he's not one for over shadowing people, but technology." He then raised a hand to his chin in thought. "Actually, he's never over shadowed a person before as far as I can remember."

"What's going on Jaime?" Impulse asked as he saw the confused expression on the young teen's face. "They're…. arguing. Technus and the Scarab."

"That sounds….. creepy." The silent, until now, Robin said with a raised brow. "To have two guys arguing in your head like that."

"I can only imagine." Nigtwing commented with his own brow raised.

"Hey-" Jaime called out as his armor was activated without his consent. He quickly looked himself over once it had completed its deployment.

"Are they still arguing?" Danny inquired as he held the metal device over his shoulder.

"No ese….. the Scarab is silent…." Jaime informed with an almost relieved expression. He then looked up to the halfa with hope. "Did he do it?" Danny looked skeptical at best, but didn't have much a chance to think about it before the armor started acting up again. Several pieces of the armor started moving out of place, but quickly going back before the teen froze up all together.

"Jaime?" Impulse called as he waved his hand in front of the teen.

"Stop that child." He ordered as he grabbed the speedster's wrist. "It's very annoying." Though it was Jaime's voice to speak, the mannerisms and accent were obviously Technus.

"What are you doing inside Jaime Technus? You're supposed to be inside the Scarab!" Danny reprimanded in an angry tone.

"But that is exactly where I am. As if I would demean myself by jumping into a human." He raised up both of the teen's hands like his own in inquiry. "Though it seems that's what appears to be happening to you. This Scarab seems to be directly linked to this humans nervous system. When I took over its central processor I took over all of its functions, this being one of them."

"So the Scarab really can take over Jaime whenever it wants." Impulse commented with worry evident in his voice.

"So it would seem." Nightwing added in. "But why hasn't it done anything if it could? It's had plenty of chances."

The possessed Jaime gave a nod. "Yes, but according to its data log, its only priority is the preservation of its host. It holds a subordinate function to the human."

"Why would it be that way if the Reach intended to use it to control Jaime?" Danny asked aloud as he turned to Nightwing.

"Not sure…. Maybe that has something to do with why they grabbed Blue Beetle in the first place." He elaborated. "Remember when Blu told us they wanted to get the Scarab back on mode when he was with the Reach?"

Danny nodded. "But they couldn't… at least not without removing it first."

"That would make sense then." Technus started. "This Scarab is not receiving any sort of outside signal. Given its programing to be subordinate, it would seem that it has redirected that role to the one you call Jaime, its host. As things stand now, this Scarab has no choice or intention to assert control of the human unless the human gives permission or is at risk."

The news seemed to relieve Impulse, but it didn't make his worry go away completely. "Then how does it get back on mode?"

"Technus, can you remove the Scarab, yes or no." Danny reiterated sternly.

Technus paused a moment as the armor seemed to activate several weapons before deactivating them. Once the weapons stopped his wings formed followed by a few other minor transformations before Technus finally spoke again. "Yes I can."

That was surprising to everyone though Danny quickly became skeptical. "So? Aren't you going to do it?"

"No." He stated rather bluntly.

"I knew it! You're still an evil ghost just like in the comics!" Impulse accused as he pointed a finger at the possessed armored teen.

Technus seemed annoyed and slightly confused by the declaration. "I do not know of these comics you speak of, but I am doing exactly what I was asked. Phantom told me to remove the Scarab without hurting the human yes? If I were to force the Scarab to release this human as it is now, the separation will no doubt kill this human. Should he somehow survive the shock, he would not remain that way for long." Bart's anger faded to join the rest of the team in solemn silence. After spending a few minutes in it, Technus grew impatient and turned to Danny. "So as I have told you, I cannot remove it without causing harm to this child. If that is all you wanted I would like to take my leave, with my lightning rod of course."

Danny held it out to him. "I did promise so here."

Technus phased out of the Scarab and quickly floated over to claim his lost weapon. "Finally!" He shouted in joy as the ball at the end formed skies which then crackled with electricity. His delight was halted when he heard a certain halfa clear his throat and turned to see him step out of the way of the portal. "Oh right, no meddling with the humans. That was part of the agreement wasn't it?" He then chuckled as he dove through the portal without pause.

Danny quickly turned it off with a motion of his hand on the rim and it shrank down to its standard size. "I guess that was a bust after all."

"Maybe not." Nightwing corrected just as Mal, Superboy and La'gann entered the hanger.

"Hope you didn't start without us." Mal teased as he saw his teammates debating something.

"I was just about to start actually." Nightwing responded back as everyone fell in for the briefing. He then started the news broadcast from GBS where Godfree was talking about the partnership between the Reach and Lex corp. "Obviously any partnership between the Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news." He began after pausing the feed. "So "Alpha Squad is going undercover to recon Lex Corp. Farms. Robin, you'll be running Alpha."

The young boy wonder was surprised by the choice and voiced it. "Me? Run Alpha?... uh.. right, who's on the squad?"

"Blue Beetle-" He started before being cut off.

"Whoa, hold on. I should not be sent out on a mission. What if the Scarab goes all Reach Apocalypse on us?" Nightwing placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Your Scarab has had multiple opportunities to betray us. It hasn't. If what that ghost told us was true, it doesn't seem to have any communications to the Reach either. Given that, you might be our best shot at trying to figure out what they're up to."

"_There Jaime Reyas, listen to the Nightwing, his logic is flawless."_ The Scarab agreed in his standard tone of cold logic. Though it didn't dismiss his doubts, it did make him feel a bit better about his situation.

"Then if he's goin, I'm goin." Impulse cut in with enthusiasm.

"I thought as much." Nightwing revealed with a smirk before turning to a darkened corner of the room. "And last but not least Arsenal, but you'll have to travel lighter for your first mission. Nothing that won't fit under civilian clothes. Any questions?"

Arsenal seemed agitated as he crossed his arms. "Just one, why are we meeting in this dump?"

Nightwing didn't seem too happy with his attitude as he responded. "With the Hall of Justice destroyed, and the Cave still requiring some repairs, we don't have too many options."

"Except the Watch Tower. It's national news now, you can't pretend it doesn't exist" Arsenal countered.

"Only Justice Leaguers and senior members of the team are authorized for the Watch Tower. You don't qualify." Nightwing shot back.

"Good to know where we stand." Arsenal grumbled back as he stood with the other members of Team Alpha.

Nightwing couldn't help shaking his head at the hostile air of their latest member before turning to Danny. "You will be serving as back up for Alpha. If things go wrong, you get them out. Are you ready?"

Phantom wore a confident expression as he placed a thermos on his back. "No problems here." He then heard a bark from behind as Cujo scampered to his feet.

"You bringing him along ese?" Blu wondered as he bent down to pet the dog.

"No actually, I have a little something different in mind if it comes down to it."

Blu raised a brow in curiosity, but shrugged it off. "Whatever I guess." Arsenal looked at the exchange with agitation. He didn't know anything about Phantom, but as long as he didn't get in the way he didn't see any harm. That didn't mean he trusted him though.

* * *

Lex Corp. Farms – April 8

Alpha squad just broke through an opening in the corn field as they tried to get away from the cruelly persistent Black Beetle. "Where's Phantom? Isn't he supposed to back us up now?" Impulse wondered as he looked around frantically with the rest.

"We don't need him." Arsenal argued with no one taking his comment into account. He was the one who got them into this mess in the first place by blowing up the lab.

"We'll double back, maybe lose him." Robin ordered.

"That doesn't seem likely." Black Beetle countered as he landed just in front of them. When the team tried to back up they were met with a growl and quickly found themselves cornered.

"Aw crud….. the hunter is back.." Impulse whined out reflexively.

"Dude…. What exactly is a hunter?" Blue Beetle asked just before another mystery fighter made themselves known.

The team now found themselves surround by two beetles and the ghost animal. "How many colors do these guys come in anyway?" Impulse wondered as the team tightened into a defensive circle. To the surprise of all the heroes, this new Green Beetle brandished his blade against Black Beetle with a charge.

Quick to aid his master the ghost beast jumped to Black's aid and slammed down the new Beetle with both arms held together. "Good boy Spike." Black Beetle praised with a chuckle. "Now attack!" He commanded as he pointed towards Green Beetle. Spike obeyed and charged at the armored alien once he regained his ground. "Warrior! You dare attack me!? You Scarab rejects are coming out of the wood work tonight!"

Green Beetle parried the ghost's charge but was pushed back all the same. He jumped out of the way of the ghost and shouted back at Black. "Better to be a reject then a slave!"

Spike growled up at the Beetle who was now out of his reach. "If you want some attention, I'll give it to you!" The Ghost was tackled out of nowhere by Danny who now stood between Black Beetle and Alpha squad. "Sorry guys, I got held up. This guy is pretty good at disappearing." He then turned to look up at the new Beetle. "By the way, who's your new friend?"

Impulse shook his head. "Don't know. This guy's not in the history books."

Danny raised a brow. "Well regardless, the enemy of my enemy right?"

Robin took a better look as the two Beetle's fought. "Maybe….. Density shifting, shapeshifting….. This guy has all the powers of a Martian except-" He was cut off all of a sudden though Danny didn't have time to wonder why as the ghost beast stood back up to fight again.

Danny wasted no time in forming ice around his arms before attacking. "Time for a rematch Spike."

The ghost accepted with a toothy grin. "Accepted." Though he was a bit surprised by the revelation that the beast could speak he didn't let that stop himself from blocking the creature's charge.

As he was pushed back he built up more ice up his arms to better guard against the quills as he counter attacked. He ducked under the ghost's head and tackled him back before punching him with an ecto ice enhanced fist. "_Wulf! Get in there now! Back up the others! I've got this one!"_ With that order a dark shadow moved through the field behind their fight and straight towards Black Beetle. As the other members of Alpha jumped into action after Green got knocked back, Black quickly found their antics more than annoying. No matter how much the team did, however, Black still got back on his feet and his armor repaired itself. He couldn't help but laugh at their futile attempts to stop him as he continued his approach. "_Try me!"_ Wolf growled out as he jumped out of the corn field and pounced onto Black Beetle's armor. He jumped back and then proceeded to slash through it rather effectively with his claws.

"No way ese! Is that who I think it is!?"

Impulse pumped his fist. "No worries hermano cause I know that's who I think it is!"

"Mind sharing with the class?" Arsenal asked in irritation.

"That's Wulf ese, he's one of Phantom's ghost allies."

Robin then stepped forward. "Then we should give him a hand don't you think?"

* * *

Back with Danny and Spike, both seemed to be circling for another attack. "Smarter than I thought you were." Danny commented as he winced from a few spines the other ghost had put in his back. "But I'm not losing to you again." He spread out both hands to freeze the ground but Spike jumped up to dodge. Phantom then looked up and fired ice from his eyes. Spike covered with his tail which was rendered into an ice block upon landing.

He looked back at it and growled in anger. "Payback!" He shouted in a roar before charging again.

Phantom grabbed him by the horns and swung him around in the air. It didn't take him long to figure out this ghost had a short temper so baiting him was his best plan. He released him to go flying over towards the other battle. "Opps….." He flew over to join them as both Beetles began firing their sonic canons at Black Beetle.

He was beginning to fall from the strain just before Spike adjusted his trajectory in order to slam into Green Beetle. The attack was cut off much to Black's pleasure as he regained his composure and his armor repaired itself. "I'm really starting to like this pet thing." Spike fell to the ground at his master's side, ready for attack again.

"Sorry… that was my bad guys." Danny apologized as he flew to the side of his allies. "But it's still seven against two right?" Wulf agreed as he raised his claws for attack again.

"That's what you think." Black countered as a chorus of howls echoed through the field.

Danny's ghost sense started up like crazy as the howls grew closer and he couldn't stop himself from face palming. "Damn it!"

The new ghosts quickly over ran the group in the form of a blue smoke. They only gained a form when they attacked and Robin quickly recanted their last appearance. "It's those things from that break in at DALV co.!"

Danny and Wulf seemed to be the only effective attackers as the others passed through them like they were mist. "Alright guys, it's time to fall back! Me and Wulf will hold them here."

"No way Phantom, we're a team!" Robin said in refusal but Phantom turned to him with a stern glare.

"A team on a mission! I'll be right behind you! I have a plan, but if you guys stick around, you'll only get caught up in it!" He then turned to Wulf. "_Push them back for me!"_ Wulf nodded and turned to the young heroes. "_You must go now!"_ He growled before jumping towards the misty pack.

"Phantom knows what he's doing Robin, let's get out of here!" Blu called out as he grabbed Impulse off the ground.

Green Beetle seemed to agree as he grabbed Arsenal and Robin before they could give consent. "Your friend seems to be capable. Have confidence that he shall succeed." The two of them quickly flew them out of range before an earsplitting wail was heard from behind.

They stopped mid-flight as all, who could, covered their ears while Blu almost dropped impulse trying. "Oh man! What is that noise!?" The wail only lasted about a minute and afterwards the team released their ears in relief.

Once they got a look at the area of the fight, however, they were speechless at the destruction. Regardless of their distance, the barren spot in the cornfield was an eye sore and much larger than they had left it only minutes before. "What did Phantom do?" Robin asked, but never expected an answer since the others seemed just as curious a he was.

* * *

Once a worn out Phantom had finally rejoined the group, they all made their way towards a secondary meet up spot at the Kent's farm. It was nearby and they had a non-team member with them so it made a good temporary choice in Nighwing's opinion. He thanked Mr. Kent for the help before turning to the team and their new ally. "So what exactly happened? You look beat." He commented as he looked at the tired Phantom who took to sitting on a hay bale.

"I feel beat….." He let out as he leaned forward. "But, it could've been a lot worse I guess." He then gestured to the thermos on his back. "I caught this crazy pack of ghosts you might recognize. The other one got away from me though."

"_I apologize my friend, but he has escaped me as well."_ Wulf apologized as he phased into the barn rather suddenly.

"_It's alright Wulf, he's really good at that it seems."_ Wulf trotted over and took a spot next to Danny as he licked a scratch on his paw.

"And this is?" Nightwing asked with a brow raised.

"Oh uh, this is Wulf. He's a friend of mine, and only speaks Esperanto." He then turned to Wulf. "_This is Nightwing, an ally like the others."_ Danny conveyed as he pointed to everyone else.

Wulf nodded in understanding as he stood up to leave. "_It is good to meet you then. I must leave now my friend. Tucker wished for me to give this to you though."_ He stated as he pulled a folded up flier out of his pocket. "_He said it was important."_ He then dashed off through the barn wall as he came.

Danny simply socked it away, saving it for later. "Sorry, he's not really the social type." He elaborated as he turned towards the new Beetle. "But I don't know him."

"Right, I didn't think so." Nightwing responded as he approached the Martian Beetle. After Green Beetle explained how he got his Scarab and how he came to Earth, Nightwing turned to Robin, Alpha leader, for the full break down of the mission. Meanwhile, Danny watched the new Beetle with curiosity. Something about this Green Beetle unnerved him. He couldn't really say what and didn't really think much of it since Miss Martian gave him the same vibe most of the time. It could very well be just the fact that they are Martians, and it's not like he knows many of those. Still though, this one gave him a bad feeling with how he looked at Blu.

* * *

**So another chapter and more interesting questions no?**

**First of all, I'll go over a bit with Sam. Yes, I am crossing her with Raven for this fic. This idea was actually already done by another person, TheWhiteTitan, who wrote a pretty good DPXYJ crossover themselves. Its one of the few I liked anyway. I then remembered this bit after someone commented about have Raven in the story. This led to lots and lots of contemplating until I came up with the scenario above. Several cannon facts helped me think this over:**

**1 - Sam doesn't really look or have anything in common with her parents.**

**2 - She does resemble her grandmother when she was young**

**3 - Her likes and attitude usually cause her parents distress. (This is pretty common though...)**

**I think it was a pretty clever way of overlaying the characters since Raven's origins tend to vary from one DC universe to another. I don't think I'll go deep for this one and keep it vague, but the powers will be what you would see Raven use. (The standard ones.) I'm sorry if it bothers anyone, but that's what I've decided on. I would appreciate thoughts and opinions though.=^-^=**

**Second, I couldn't resist having Technus look at the Scarab. It seemed like such an obvious scenario since he literally takes over technology. Also, if you didn't get the joke, its a common thought that Technus is actually the ghost of Nikola Tesla. This can be further backed by the fact that his first initial is N as seen in Teacher of the year. (It was on his chest)=^-^=**

**That's the end of that and I appreciate any comments or impressions! Questions too if you have them.=^-^=**


	12. Chapter 12 - Necessity

**So more stuff... yeah. Sorry it's late so I don't really have too much actual enthusiasm right now, but I worked hard on this and made it pretty long as well. You finally get to know what the Light wanted from Fenton Works and you finally get to see what Tucker's been up too since he moved away from Amity Park.=^-^=**

**Ch. 12 - Necessity**

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 14

"Looks like the cave is back in order." Connor commented with relief as he and several of the other boarders were finally moving back in. The small amount of personal belongings they brought with them initially was easy enough to bring back since they didn't have to worry about moving out permanently.

"About time!" Mal proclaimed in immense relief as he carried in his own box. "That warehouse was somethin awful."

"Yeah, but it was kinda fun too." Gar defended as he dashed towards his own room. The hole in the roof of the Cave's hangar was the only big problem with it aside from cracks and damage from the shock wave which allowed for a relatively short repair time.

As Danny followed Gar down the hall, since his room was across from his own, Nightwing called him over. "Hey Phantom, can we talk a minute?"

He raised a brow at the request. "Uh sure." He placed his box down and followed the leader into the briefing room.

"I got a call from Star Labs this morning. One of the teens that the Reach took somehow escaped overnight."

Danny furrowed his brow. "How? Isn't that place like, super high security?"

Nightwing nodded. "Yeah, but she got through without being noticed or seen on any cameras. As a matter of fact, no one knew until bed check this morning."

"Wait a minute…. Who escaped?" The halfa asked while having a good idea despite the question.

Nightwing pulled up a picture. "Sam Manson." Danny groaned at the revelation. "According to their visitor logs, you were the only one to visit her, and it was just last week."

Danny nodded as he scratched his head. "Yeah I did, but I didn't help her escape if that's what you're getting at, though she did ask me."

The admission didn't come as much of a surprise to Nightwing since he'd seen Danny several times the previous night as they prepared to move back into the cave. "So she's a friend of yours? Says here she used to live in Amity Park, before moving to Gotham."

"Yeah, but her parents skipped town with most of the other sane families with the financial security to do so last year. I didn't really keep in touch though, and I can't really say where she'd go if she didn't go home already." Though he knew Phantom didn't help her escape, he didn't seem to be telling the whole story about knowing where she'd go.

Regardless though, he let him go at that. "Alright then, let me know if you think of anything."

"No problem. By the way, I'm going to set up a container for those ghost dogs I caught last week. Any particular place you want them?"

Nigtwing pointed towards a back wall in the same room. "Over there would be okay. Thanks Phantom." Phantom then flew back to pick his box from the hall.

"Not going to pry more?" Super Boy asked as he approached his friend.

"No, I already knew they knew each other especially after Black Canary told me about their argument back at Star Labs."

"Despite him joining the team several months ago though, we still don't know a lot about him." Super Boy added in with his arms crossed. "But he doesn't seem like a bad guy at all."

"He's not, as far as I can tell. He just likes to keep personal things to himself, which is a pretty normal thing for people." He then started on the console with a serious expression. "But that friend of his may not know how much damage her powers can cause if she's not careful." He pulled up an image which caused Super Boy's eyes to widen. "She did this the day before she went missing. One of the scientists seemed to set her off and the whole room had to be cleared."

Their conversation didn't get much further before Danny returned. He had several metal rods over his shoulder along with a thermos on his back. "Want a hand with that?" Super Boy offered as he approached the halfa.

"Sure." He handed him a couple of the rods which they both then placed in a good box formation. They propped themselves up on integrated stands before connecting with an energy field which now resembled a glowing green box.

"So this will hold all of them?" Super Boy asked as he took a step back.

"It should, but I'm only going to let one of them out. Considering he's part of a pack, it'll be easier to work with him if he's alone."

"Good idea." Nightwing praised as he approached and stood beside Conner.

"Comes from experience." Danny admitted as he pulled out his thermos. Just as he was about to release a ghost he paused. "That's weird….."

"What do you mean?"

Danny turned the ring at the top of the thermos before releasing the ghost inside. "The storage percent is way too low." The mist shot out of the thermos before reforming into the ghastly blue hound they all knew. "There was only one ghost inside….. but I know I got the whole pack." As the ghost took in its surroundings it quickly became agitated and began growling. "That's also not normal…." He then turned to Nightwing. "Maybe this isn't the same one?"

The leader traded a questioning glance with Super Boy who seemed equally confused. "It looks exactly like those other ones from before." Their confusion was corrected when the ghost started splitting off into several ghosts who tested the walls of their prison without success. All three of them look on in surprise.

"That could explain it…." Danny revealed.

"I guess.. I don't really know a lot about ghosts." Nightwing agreed as he turned to the halfa. "What does this mean? He's not what we thought he was?"

"Yeah, he's a black dog. Unlike a spirit pack, these have been known to steal, but usually for a specific reason. Most of the time they're out for some kind of revenge. Some older myth even has them killing people, but I haven't run into that yet."

"Then we need to get rid of it. Do whatever you do with ghosts." Conner proclaimed as if it was an obvious decision.

"Not so fast Super Boy. We should try and figure out why." The leader reasoned.

"Especially since that Black Beetle guy called it for back up." Danny added in. "Besides, I'd just send it back to the Ghost Zone."

Conner turned to him in angry surprise. "You just let them go?"

"Yeah, what do you expect me to do with them? Keep them on a shelf?" Phantom argued back.

"Not let them go like nothing ever happened!" Nightwing blocked the Kryptonian off with a hand.

"Calm down Conner."

"Look, you can't deal with a ghost the same way you would a criminal. Ghosts have crazy reasons for things. The best way to deal with them is to figure out why and work from there if you want them to stop coming back."

"So you don't do anything about what they've done already? That doesn't solve anything." Super Boy decreed with annoyance as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not going to claim to understand, but it really doesn't sound like it does anything to me either." Nightwing admitted with a more understanding expression. He really had no experience with ghosts, and Danny was the expert.

Danny let out a sigh as he scratched his head a bit. "You remember that ghost from last week, Technus? Didn't you find what I said not to mention weird?"

"You mean about Thomas Edison or the light bulb? Yeah, but I figured you had a reason for it."

Danny nodded. "Yeah I did. There are lots of ways a ghost is formed, and when they used be someone else, it's not uncommon for them to change their appearance or name if they remember it at all. Technus' first name is Nikola."

Both of them took a moment before realizing what he was trying to say. "You're not saying that he was the ghost of Nikola Tesla are you?!" Conner questioned in pure disbelief.

"Yeah I am. That's also why you can't just catch one and expect that to end things."

"This is starting to sound very complicated." Nightwing admitted as he raised a hand to his chin.

"Maybe not as complicated as you might think." Danny corrected which peeked the vigilante's interest. He then blew on his fingers in a whistle which attained its desired effect as Cujo dashed into the room. "Black Dogs, like normal dogs, can be trained pretty easily if you know how to deal with them. Cujo here's a black dog too only he spent the better part of a week terrorizing people looking for a squeaky toy. About 90% of the time they are malevolent, but then there are times when they are looking for something like with him." He then turned to the box. "This one is trained if it was following orders."

"Like backing up Black Beetle at Lex Corp. Farms." Nightwing stated as he looked towards the ghost as it still tried to get free of the box. "I guess the question is though, who trained it? The Light or the Reach?"

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 15

Danny wore a backpack as he prepared to leave the Cave on a personal mission. Tucker had sent him a flier for some comic signing which happened to be his own. Tucker was supposed to meet him there so it would be a good time to get the records back from him about what Lex wanted from his parents. Just as he was about to enter the Zeta tubes, they activated. "Blue Beetle B-22. Impulse B-23"

The two younger heroes noticed him just in time to catch him before he left out the other one. "Whoa! Hold on, where you going so early?" Bart questioned as he quickly cut Phantom off at the pass.

"I'm going to meet my friend Tucker at some comic signing in San Francisco."

Impulse turned to Jaime with a grin. "What a coincidence. Me and Blu here were just about to invite you to go to that very comic signing. Right Blu?"

Jaime nodded. "Yeah, I thought it would be cool if you met the guy who writes your comics since you didn't know about them before."

Impulse then pulled both of them into a huddle of sorts. "I know, why don't we go together hermanos? It would be totally crash!"

Danny couldn't really turn them down since they were going anyway. They'd probably help him not draw attention anyway. "Sure I guess."

* * *

San Francisco - April 15

"I kinda feel like the odd man out now ese." Jaime commented as he saw the massive crowd around the comic book store. It seemed that 90% of those there were in some sort of costume with the majority being Danny Phantom and related themes.

"It's not too late Hermano. You could just armor up right quick back there." Impulse suggested as he pointed towards the ally they had come out of. It was surprising to them how close a Zeta tube was to the store and so they didn't really have to walk much.

After some slight hesitance, Blu decided to do just that. "Alright, just hold on a sec."

Danny simply watched the crowd in honest surprise. "Is my comic really this popular?"

"Well duh Phantom, what did you expect?"

Danny scratched his head. "A smaller crowd." His embarrassment was obvious on his green cheeks. "Now all of them think my real name is Invisobill…" He mumbled in even more embarrassment.

"Actually they think it's Bill Inviso, but I guess I get where you're commin from."

"Alright, I'm good." Blu claimed as he rejoined them.

"Good, let's get moving then!" Impulse suggested in excitement as he took the lead.

As the trio approached, it didn't take long for a lot of the fans to notice the costumes, especially Danny's. "Oh man! His is so good!" A round teen exclaimed from close to the front of the line.

"Oh yes, and those guys are pretty cool too especially the Blue Beetle one." His friend added in.

"Hold on dude, let me get a picture!" One fan dressed as Johnny 13 called out. Danny didn't have time to respond before the camera flashed on him. A few more camera flashes followed which caused Danny to become slightly agitated by the attention.

"Damn it Tuck, where are you?" He grumbled as he looked around. His dark skinned amigo was nowhere in the line that he could see, and he didn't want to stick around for pictures.

"Maybe he's already inside."

Impulse tried to see through the windows. "Yeah but it's pretty crowded in there man. Not to mention the line just to get in."

Danny tried to simply approach the door to go in and check before a large store clerk stopped him. "Hey if you want to get in to see Mr. Hartman then you're gonna have to wait in line with everybody else kid."

Danny raised a brow and looked at the line before turning back to the man. "Look, I don't want an autograph, and I don't want to see this guy. I'm looking for my friend who asked me to meet him here."

The clerk wasn't convinced. "Sorry if I don't believe you kid. Nice costume by the way." Danny's next course of action was to try calling Tuck directly but it kept going straight to voice mail.

"I guess we should just get in line then." Blu suggested.

"I'm not wasting my time in that line Blu. Period."

"Sorry then kid. Mr. Foley told me not to let people in unless they get in line. It keeps the event organized."

Danny snapped back to look at the clerk. "Did you say Mr. Foley?"

"Yup, he's Mr. Hartman's assistant and the event organizer. My boss told me to do whatever he asks for the event."

Danny now seemed extremely agitated as he grabbed both Impulse and Blu. "Oh I'm definitely not waiting in this line now. Come on guys." He then phased them right through the window much to the surprise of both the fans and the clerk.

"Was he….?" The clamor quickly ignited the line as the rumor of the real Danny Phantom spread down. Inside the store, they weren't as noticed since most people kept their attention on the man sitting at the back table signing comics.

"Alright, now we find Tuck." Danny almost commanded in an agitated tone. Neither Blu nor Impulse really knew what was up as they followed their teammate. Danny didn't take too much care as he forced his way through the line before he was finally noticed by the manager.

"Excuse me kid, but please wait your turn! Mr. Hartman will get to everyone."

"I'm not here to see Mr. Hartman. I'm looking for Mr. Foley." He revealed with an adamant tone.

The manager seemed intimidated by the teen's gaze as he adjusted his tie. "Well then…. I guess…. I guess I'll go see if he's available. Would you mind giving me your name?"

"Phantom, Danny Phantom."

The manager looked at him in disbelief. "You are not serious are you?"

Danny crossed his arms. "Just tell him, he'll definitely want to talk to me." Though confused by that, the man didn't really want to take the teen's gaze anymore and so he dashed to the back to speak to Mr. Foley.

"What's up with you man?" Impulse inquired.

"Hopefully nothing." He growled in response.

"Hey dude! I see you got my invite!" A dark skinned teen in a red barrette called out as he approached them in the shop. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a white DP emblem on the front with green cargo pants. He froze the minute he saw Danny's angry expression and gulped.

"Explain this now." Danny demanded. Tucker brought them to a back room to talk once Danny had made himself completely clear. "I'm waiting." Danny reiterated as he stared down his friend.

"Oh right uh… well…. You remember that thing with Freak Show where we ended up at the San Diego Comic Con? You mentioned some guys making a comic of you."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but those guys were a lot younger than this guy." Danny responded as he thought about the middle aged man who was signing comics.

"Yeah well, I decided to dig a bit after that and found out about Mr. Hartman. He had just started an official serialization on you called, "The Phantom of Amity Park". When I finally got in touch with him, as it turned out, he was looking for someone with a good background with you who lived there."

Danny raised an annoyed brow. "So you did sell me out to a comic book."

Tucker quickly defended himself. "Now hold on dude, I couldn't very well just let that guy go and make stuff up could I? He'd already published the first comic and if you haven't read it then you don't want to. As your best friend, I held it as my responsibility to make sure you're represented as accurately as possible."

"Uh-huh so you didn't tell him about the Inviso Bill thing?"

Tucker almost seemed offended. "Of course not dude, and believe me, I tried to get him to change it, but the damage was done."

Danny's anger let up a bit as he took that into account. "Alright, but that's not the only reason is it?" He inquired with an unamused expression.

"Well, the job does pay pretty well, and I've got to help my mom out with the bills."

With that last comment Danny's anger left him completely. "Your dad still having troubles?"

Tucker didn't seem too bothered as he responded. "Yeah, but he gets by now. Anyway, so your friends here." He started as he turned to them. "Blue Beetle and Impulse right?" They each shook his hand in greeting. "Danny told me about you guys and the team. He also told me you were the one to show him the comics." He elaborated as he looked at his wrist. "If you stick around a bit, Mr. Hartman will be coming back for a break."

"Anyway Tuck, about that data I wanted."

Tuck turned to him and held up a flash drive. "This? Yeah, I got it no problem, but it's not specific. It has a serial number and that's it. You'll have to dig it out of storage."

"So you figure out what they wanted?"

Tucker took a seat in one of the desk chairs. "No but you could narrow it down. It dates back a little over two years…. Around when Dani came back I think. Remember how she came back because she was unstable and you helped her fix that?"

Danny seemed annoyed by the revelation. "Perfect….. that could still be any number of chemicals."

Tucker shrugged. "Sorry dude, but that directory code went straight to it, and did not pass GO. Nothin else I can give you."

"You were talking about your cousin?" Blu wondered as he jumped into the conversation.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, did Gar tell you about her?"

Tucker held up a comic for him. "Actually she was in one of the more recent issues dude."

Danny took the comic and flipped through. "Tell me you didn't Tuck."

"What? Arch enemy clones hero is a really good story line."

Danny looked at him in disappointment. "Tuck! How could you do that to her? You think Dani wants people to know that?"

"So she really is a failed clone of you?" Blu asked.

"Oh that is so awesome!" Impulse added in. "I mean…. I guess it wasn't awesome for you…. Or Dani… crash idea though."

Tucker took the comic from Danny with calm expression. "Come on dude. I kept the halfa thing out of the comics so when she's human, no one will know her. Besides, you won't let her do the hero thing anyway so it's not like anyone will think about that."

"That's not the point Tucker."

"Relax dude. Dani already said it was cool."

Danny froze before grabbing his friend by the shirt. "Hold on, you told Dani and you didn't even mention it to me!?"

Tucker wore a sheepish expression. "Well yeah, and I would have told you sooner, but then the whole thing with Sam came up and you were really intense so…"

"So that girl from Star Labs, the one who told you off, that was the same girl who got kidnapped by Prince Aragorn in issue 29 right?" Impulse blurted out. "I thought she looked familiar."

"For real ese?" Blu added in.

Tucker wore a false pained expression. "She told you off huh? Ouch….. She said you guys argued but.."

"So you did help her escape." Danny deduced instantly. "I thought so."

Tucker held his hands in surrender. "Yeah, you got me. She called me up and told me to get her out pronto. Said those scientists were driving her insane and you wouldn't do it."

Danny crossed his arms. "Yeah because she couldn't control her powers. She could hurt someone Tuck."

Tuck wore smirk as he crossed his arms. "Last time I checked, you weren't too coordinated at first with your powers either. Besides, you know how Sam is about anyone being reduced to a lab subject."

Danny let out a sigh. "Yeah I guess. She mentioned that when I talked to her too, and I know I wouldn't want to be there….. you know where she is?"

"Not a clue." Tucker responded quickly. "But she does check in with me every so often. I gave her a phone, you want the number?" Danny gave his answer along with his phone so he could add it.

He then turned towards his two teammates. "Do me a favor guys and keep this to yourselves alright?"

"No problem Phantom."

"You can trust us ese." They both agreed. Blu then changed the topic back to the comic. "So anyway, about Dani, where exactly does she live now? Gar said she visited you back on your birthday."

"Oh Dani lives with Jazz in Boston, why?"

Blu shrugged with a sheepish expression. "I just thought It'd be cool to meet her that's all."

Impulse seemed interested as well. "What a crash idea! You should invite her back to the cave. It's not like she doesn't already know about it."

Danny didn't seem too keen on the idea as he furrowed his brow. "I don't know, she really doesn't need the distraction right now."

"Actually I'm pretty sure Jazz would welcome it with finals coming up." Tucker informed.

The insinuation of the fact that everyone talks to Tucker more than him didn't really sit well with him, but he let it go. "I guess I could, but I'd have to run it by Nightwing first."

* * *

Undisclosed location (Reach Labs) – April 26

"His structure is destabilizing faster." The Reach scientist informed as the Ambassador looked over the work. "It would seem these protoplasmic entities are far more complicated than we first realized." The Ambassador furrowed his brow at the scientist's comments. "If this one can't be salvaged then what would be the point in continuing with it?"

"I believe we have found a way to fix this problem." He then turned to Black who was waiting patiently by the door with a metallic stranger.

"Plasmius has sent me to track down a certain subject for you as per your request."

The ambassador seemed pleased by the ghost's statement. "Ah so that other halfa is viable after all?"

The ghost nodded with a confident expression. "Indeed, and they'll make for a decent hunt as well."

Black then pointed over to the ghost experiment. "I also believe this is another good use of this Hunter." He then pulled out a small metal object shaped sort of like a tuning fork. "Plasmius has provided us with information on that subject for our research, but we need to gather it ourselves if we wish for it to remain in viable condition. This should suffice in subduing it for transport." Black didn't seem too happy about it. "That one seems to readily give orders doesn't he? Foolish meat."

The Ambassador motioned to the scientist. "Release the Hunter, he has a subject to catch." She was quick to follow his orders and the ghostly beast opened his eyes before stepping out of the pod. The Ambassador handed him the tool. "You have a mission. You only have 24 hours before your stability starts to degenerate again, bring back the subject before then."

Spike bowed. "Confirmed."

Black then motioned him to follow. "You are to work with Skulker and make sure you do not overdo it, Spike." He seemed to really enjoy the name he'd given the beast as he chuckled rather coldly. "Even if it is an enjoyable pursuit."

* * *

Boston – April 26

The steps of the university were crowded as a young red head and a younger ravenette met by the door. "Thanks for helping me out Jazz. It's way easier to get books here when an actual student is the one checking them out."

Jazz gave her a smile as she waved her off. "Just make sure you don't lose them on the way home. Missing books can go against my school record Dani."

The young teen seemed insulted. "Come on Jazz, give me some credit here."

Jazz placed one hand on her hips while the other held her bag. "Sorry Dani, but you and Danny share this uncanny ability to misplace things school related very quickly."

Dani crossed her arms. "Then you only need to worry about one of them then. The other one was recommended by a friend of mine in class." She looked over the cover. "It's supposed to be the first of this super popular series."

Jazz took a look at the binding. "Braxton…. Oh, he writes the Metamorphosis series. Let's see, the first one is 'Mutant' and then 'Hybrid'. I'm pretty sure the third one is slated to come out later this year."

"Bookworm." The young halfa teased as she started down the steps.

"Say's the girl who plans to read a book series when she gets home?" Jazz responded with an eye roll. "Anyway, I shouldn't be here too late, but don't wait on me to have dinner."

"Alright." Dani replied as she hurried down the steps. She then found her way to a somewhat secluded area where she found it safe to transform. Since she wasn't old enough to drive, flying was always the best way to get home. She flew over the campus invisibly with the books in hand as she made her way towards the apartment complex she shared with Jazz. It was conveniently pretty close to the campus, despite not being completely affiliated with the school itself. The sun was just setting as she landed behind the complex in a convenient ally free from prying eyes. She had to make sure someone saw her going into the apartment or she'd get people suspicious. "Maybe I'll just have the take out in the fridge…"

She started before her ghost sense stopped her cold. "A ghost…. Here?" She took a good look around, but didn't see anything. Her sense didn't stop though so she did a bit of investigating. "How does Danny figure out where a ghost is so fast?" She grumbled after 30 minutes of nothing. Her ghost sense had stopped awhile back as she looked over the park she now hovered over. "I better just go home. This is a waste of time." The minute she turned to fly back, however, her ghost sense went off again. As she turned to investigate again she heard the tree just below rustle. She raised a brow before lowering to get a good look. With the sun light waning she decided to light her way with her ghost ray, but quickly regretted the decision when she was met with a pair of angry red eyes.

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 26

"So what exactly are you looking for?" Gar questioned as he looked over a few of the vials sitting on Danny's desk. When he'd shown up in the cave with a large storage unit the young changeling was the only one to think it was weird.

"I'm trying to figure out which one of these was on the GIW wish list, or I guess Lex Luthor's if I'm being specific. All the chemicals that never made it to final testing only ever got labeled with a serial number before storage. My parents were pack rats about their work even if it was a failure."

Gar then looked over into the container. "But that's gotta be…. Hundreds?"

"400 to be specific, and to make things really fun, they are not organized by number." He then motioned to a divider. "They are organized by project though. This smaller section of around 100 was for a new super foam which was supposed to render ghosts unable to move. This side is for Ecto-dejecto, as my dad called it. It was supposed turn ghosts in to puddles basically."

Gar scratched his head. "I'm thinking none of these do that."

"Yeah, these are duds and they never had a finalized product. You want to give me a hand?"

"Sure!" He jumped at the idea. "What do you want me to do?"

Danny placed several of the vials on the desk. "You can be my double checker. I'll pull them out and look and then you make sure I didn't mess up. Here's the number you're looking for." He placed a scrap paper with a written code before the young hero. "E46-246" "The super downside of using the first letter of a proposed name in the serial code is when most of the names start with 'Ecto'." Danny grumbled with a laugh. He then started looking over each vial quickly before handing it off to Beast Boy who took a bit more time in comparing it to the paper. The two worked diligently for an undetermined amount of time before Danny finally found what he was looking for. "Got it!"

Gar almost dropped a couple of the vials he had in hand at the sudden outburst. "You did?"

"Yeah, and we only reached to bottom of the container." He said as he gestured to the handful of vials left to check. He reached down to each one to check them too as he continued. "I guess there was only one more of this one. It must be the last one of batch."

"It says there's only one on this list too."

Danny turned to him. "What list?"

"This one." He held up the organized list. "I got it out of a folder attached to the inside of the lid.

"Wish I'd noticed this before going through the whole box….. Oh well, we needed to find it anyway." He scanned down the list and found it at the very end. "This must be the last of the Ecto-Dejecto stuff. Thanks Gar."

"Nothing to it Danny." He responded proudly. "So you gonna take it to Nightwing?"

Danny stood and headed over to the door with Gar close behind. "If he's still here. Is he?"

"Pretty sure. Said he was trying to find someone when I talked to him earlier."

Danny raised a brow before thinking about Sam. As far as he knew, she was still out on her own. They both found the determined hero looking over some data in the briefing room. "Hey Nightwing, I found it."

"Found what?" He asked in a distracted tone.

"That stuff the GIW wanted and hacked the Fenton Works computer for."

He immediately stopped reading and turned to Danny with interest. "You did? What was it?"

Danny looked at the vial of green liquid before handing it over. "Some failed project called Ecto-Dejecto. It was supposed to forcibly break down the molecular bods that held a ghost together which turned them into a puddle basically."

Nightwing took the vial with interest. "I'm going to guess it didn't do that."

Danny paused a moment for his explanation. "Well yes and no. It did do that at first…. After a few minutes though the ghost's molecular bonds came back together in a more stable composition. Any ghost it was tested on turned into a puddle and then reformed into a bigger badder ghost. I guess that one really back fired in the end."

The leader looked it over carefully. "What could the Light want with this?"

"Maybe it's for the Reach, though I don't know what they'd want with it. This is the last of it though, since the formula research was lost when they hacked the file initially."

"Wish I had some of that when my quill melted." Gar said with a grumble.

"Your quill?" Danny asked with confused expression.

"Yeah my souvenir from when we broke out of the Reach's lab. It melted into a puddle only a few days after the mission." He wore a disappointed expression as he let out a sigh.

"Didn't that quill come from that monster ghost Black Beetle calls his pet?" Nightwing inquired.

"Yeah, Gar yanked it out of my shoulder so I can tell you for a fact it is. What I can't tell you is why it melted. It should take much longer for that to happen since that ghost is more of a physical fighter instead of appearating or liquefying." Danny explained as he thought it over. "It should have held for weeks if not months on its own unless it was….." He paused as his eyes widened. "Unstable…." He finally finished before pulling out his phone. "Hold on a sec I need to check something out." He requested as he dialed with lightning speed.

* * *

Boston – April 26

Dani pushed through some bushes with frantic desperation as she ran from her pursuer. She hugged the books close to her chest and tried yet again to regain her lost ghost form. Once she failed again she ducked under a park bench to take cover. "What is this guy's problem?" She mumbled to herself. "And why is he after me? I only looked for him….." She took a moment to catch her breath before looking over the bench back to see if she was still being followed. To her own relief, the monster ghost was nowhere in sight. A she relaxed a bit more she tugged a bit at the new hole in her red jeans in annoyance. "I liked these ones too."

She then froze as she heard a noise. She turned her head slightly up to find nothing at all. She only had a moment to be relieved before she was tackled from behind and pushed through the bench. The shattered park bench was strewn all around Dani as she shakily pushed herself up. She then fell hard to the ground as the weight of large foot was held upon her back. "Prey." The ghost beast stated in victory while the young halfa lay dazed under his weight.

"You better start praying yourself!" Spike heard in an enraged shout before being launched from his feet out of nowhere. He landed on all fours and growled at the halfa. Danny floated between him and the girl much to his own annoyance, but had little time to think it over. Danny launched himself at the ghost faster than he expected and was tackled back into a tree which toppled under the impact. Danny then grabbed him by the horns and proceeded to swing him vigorously until letting him go straight into another tree. As the ghost stood up, he was hammered back down with a tree by the hand of a large green gorilla. "I got 'em Beast Boy, I want you to take Dani back to the cave! Hurry!" The gorilla gave a nod before transforming into a bird and heading off.

"Looks like this will be my only chance." An invisible spectator told himself in a whisper. He crouched over the girl only moments before Beast Boy arrived and was gone before he could be noticed.

The young hero changed back into a gorilla and grabbed her up. She stirred out of her semiconscious daze in his arms. Upon seeing a furry beast in her blurry vision she screamed and kicked the side of his head. In mostly surprise, Beast Boy let her go and she fell unceremoniously to the ground. "What do you want you monster!?" She demanded as she pushed herself away.

Gar rubbed his face before transforming back to his usual self. "Hold on Danielle, I was just trying to get you to safety."

Her fear receded as she realized her mistake. "Beast Boy?" She cringed as she tried to get to her feat.

The green skinned hero was quick to give her a hand. "Yeah.. oh you might want to take it easy." He suggested as he helped her stand.

"What happened to that ghost?"

Beast Boy looked back over to the park. "Phantom's got it handled."

"Beast Boy!" Nightwing called out. He'd been the last to leave the cave since he'd taken it upon himself to store away the compound Danny had given him. He then followed Gar and Danny to Boston after hearing Danielle was MIA. "You've got Danielle, but where's Phantom?" The leader asked in a serious tone.

"That mutant porcupine was attacking her, and he's busy still fighting it in the park."

Nightwing gave a nod. "Alright, you take her back and I'll see if Phantom needs a hand." Gar nodded in confirmation as he helped Dani along.

Back in the park Danny continued his relentless onslaught as he brought down two clenched ice claws over the offending ghost's head. Spike fell hard to the ground and let out a growl like moan. "Finally seem to be hurting huh? Good. Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with my family." He evaporated the ice and grabbed one of the beast's horns. He jerked the creature's head up to meet his own glowing gaze. "You should know that I went easy on you before. I was trying to figure you out, and let the fight get out of hand. Not this time." He then held the beast's head away from himself and blasted it point blank range with his ghost ray. Spike howled in pain as he dropped to the ground. Danny then fired again which knocked the beast back several yards. The ghost seemed far from ready to get to its feet as it clutched its stomach in pain.

Danny raised his hand to fire again before a shout stopped him. "Phantom!" Nightwing called in a commanding tone. The halfa stopped his attack with a glare at the defeated beast. Nigtwing was quite surprised by the scene as Danny stood in triumph with barely a scratch while the ghost, which had given him a beating before, lay defeated on the ground. The most surprising thing though was the cold expression the halfa wore as he turned to him, almost as if he was annoyed by the interruption. "You beat it?"

Danny nodded as he reached over his shoulder. "Yeah." He responded with ice in his tone as he pointed his thermos at the beast. "It's lucky that's as far as I got too." Just as Danny was about to activate the device, both heroes were surprised to see a strange light emanate from the creature. An unstable ring of light formed around its waist which elicited a screech of agony from the ghost before it dissipated away.

Danny looked on with wide eyes at the implications that short display addressed, and Nightwing found the halfa's sudden change in demeanor curious. "Do you know what that was?"

Danny only cursed under his breath before sucking the ghost into his thermos. "Not completely sure, but I hope it wasn't what I thought it was."

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 26

Later that night the team arrived back at the cave where Danny's first priority was seeing to his cousin. The splinters from the bench were easy to get rid of, but she still had a few scrapes from the assault. She was now sitting on a stool as Danny wrapped one of her scrapped arms. "Not so tight Danny." The youngest halfa whined slightly.

"It's not tight." Danny corrected as he tied it off. "If it was any looser, it'd come off when you start moving around."

She took her arm and inspected it. "Fine." She then picked her hoodie up from the back of the chair she was sitting in. She looked at the slashed sleeve with a frown. "And I liked this one too."

"Jazz will have some more clothes ready for you first thing in the morning. Until then, I can't really do much in the way of clothes."

Dani followed as her older cousin began to exit the infirmary. "It's cool Danny, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Danny repeated as he took a glance back at her. "You're not just trying to act tough right?" He added in with a stern big brother tone.

Dani let out a sigh. "Yes I'm sure." She then dashed ahead. "Thanks to you anyway." She then missed a step and wobbled a bit, but kept her ground. "Whoa…"

"Be careful Dani, it hasn't even been an hour since we got back, and I know you're still tapped from being chased."

Dani gave him an annoyed expression. "Come on already. I just tripped, that's all. Don't worry so much."

Danny raised a brow. "I have every right to be worried when I call to check on you, and you don't answer, and then I come and find you being chased down by a mutant porcupine ghost ready to slice you to ribbons."

Dani waved that off. "Well I guess, but he wasn't going to slice me to ribbons. He was trying to catch me."

Danny, with his theory in mind, had already figured that much out, but who's to say they needed her alive? "Regardless, I'm going to worry period." He asserted with his arms crossed.

Dani knew better than to keep going and gave him a lite hug. "Thanks for that." She then continued on with Danny not far behind. He directed her to the living room area where she took a seat on the couch.

Danny then turned to rejoin Nightwing in the briefing area. The rest of the heroes, Nightwing, Super boy, Beast Boy, Miss Martian and Mal, had been waiting for him patiently. "Alright, why don't we go over what exactly just happened." Nightwing began as he turned to Danny. "Once Impulse gets here, we can talk about that ghost, but I'm more interested in this compound you gave me." He stated as he held up the vial. "You said it was supposed to break down the chemical bonds that held ectoplasm together, but it instead had the opposite effect. That's when Beast Boy mentioned the ghost's quill melting."

Beast Boy gave a nod in conformation. "Yeah, that stuff could have really come in handy."

Danny didn't really think so as he responded to the young hero. "Ah, well….. using it on something that small might not work out the way you want it too. That and it already melted. It was never tested on an already completely deteriorated sample like that." He then turned back to Nightwing. "Now one that was in the process of deteriorating is another story. That I tried once, and the result was completely stable. If instability is their problem, then using it would potentially be their solution."

"So," Nightwing started. "That brings up two questions then. First, how could they know that there was a compound like this already created. Second, who was it that supplied them with this information. Given the circumstances in how this was already on the Light's wish list before we even knew about the Reach, the person who supplied them with this information would have known they'd run into this problem." He then turned to Danny specifically. "I'm guessing that list isn't very long."

"No it's not." Phantom revealed in a serious tone. "And the one at the top of that list is most likely who we're dealing with; Plasmius."

* * *

**So it seems Danny has finally noticed Plasmius' involvement. Not that he's done alot to make himself known, but you never know with that creepy rich guy huh? Anyway, I hope I gave Ya'll a laugh with that scene with Tucker. I honestly thought the idea was priceless. Tucker was always the one given the role of 'benefiting from the sidelines' with jokes like these. (Ex. the Danny and Sam hooking up betting pool.) I also have to say that for plot reasons, timing with be very good... like with Dani above. (I'm too lazy to get anymore creative...)**

**I would also like to note that many of the cannon events in YJ Invasion are still occurring as they would. I'm not pulling any butterfly effect stuff with this. If I haven't directly changed it, please assume it goes at least mostly as the show has it. I will explain things that deviate as the story moves along. (Without spoilers of course...)**

**Last thing! Please Read!:**

**Now I'm a bit curious of what ya'll think of how Phantom was in the future. I've dropped little hints already, but if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to hear what ya'll think is happening with that or maybe some ideas of what you think I am or should do. (This might actually influence something but... it's a bit might.) Sorry for asking this so late... or maybe not depending on when you check your messages, but anyway, I'd appreciate it all the same.**

**Reviews and questions are also welcome! I hope ya'll enjoyed.=^-^=**


	13. Chapter 13 - Paradox

**So it's been awhile, but I was kinda unsure about what I was doing and just couldn't find myself liking what I had done. Needless to say, this has been rewritten several times. I decided to expand on an OC here, which was only a maybe when I first started. Hope you enjoy it anyway.=^-^=**

**Ch. 13 - Paradox**

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 27

It was around mid-morning when Nightwing entered the briefing room where Phantom had set up the containment field for their new captive. The halfa was now watching the creature with a stoic expression. "Everything all set?" He asked as he took a position on his right.

Danny gave a nod as he scrutinized the beast. The other ghost seemed agitated by them, but not violent for the moment. When Danny had first placed the ghost into the containment field it had gone absolutely nuts, but quickly figured out its position and calmed. "Yeah, he's not getting out." He then turned to the older hero. "Impulse here yet?"

"Should be here any time now." He said as he crossed his arms. "By the way, about your cousin-" He was cut off as Impulse was announced by the Zeta tubes.

The young speedster walked out enthusiastically before taking a look around. "Hello Nightwing." He greeted as he dashed up to the hero impulsively. As the hero turned to greet the awaited speedster, he saw the young teen's face twist in fear as he jumped back. Impulse stumbled back a bit as he pulled away. "W-what's the Hunter doing here!?" He asked with a surprised tone.

Nightwing and Danny traded glances. "So he's called The Hunter? I thought his name was Spike."

Bart shook his head. "I don't know what his name is, but that thing is a Hunter." He stated with a calmer composure.

"A Hunter huh?" Danny questioned as he turned to the creature. "I guess that would make sense."

"I'm going to guess they aren't anything good from your time." Nightwing deduced from the teen's actions.

Impulse shook his head. "No way. They bring the mode big time. In my time, they were the ghost like agents of the Reach. They were created specifically to hunt down people who tried to run or hide from them. They're worse than either of the Beetles."

Danny wore a scowl at the information as he turned to the creature. "So if Plasmius does have something to do with this, it hasn't changed from before you arrived."

Impulse seemed to realize something at the mention. "Hmm? I don't really know about him, but it wouldn't surprise me. My problems in my time were the beetles or hunters even though those hunters were first created to hunt you down….. opps… Spoilers."

Both Danny and Nightwing gave him curious expressions. "Wait, hunt him down?"

"You mean in your time right?" Danny asked. "You did mention before that I was there." Bart seemed a bit reluctant to continue, but eventually caved. He let out a sigh before nodding. "Yeah, but it's not that simple. You see even though the Reach had control of the planet, that didn't stop everything. There were still a few people they didn't control, like Phantom, or this." He explained as he pulled the tattered comic out of his back pocket. "You see you were more widely known as a comic book character in my era too."

Danny seemed exasperated at the revelation. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised since you mentioned that before….."

Impulse gave a nod. "Yeah, but even I didn't know you existed until about a month before I left."

* * *

Clockwork's Tower - Date N/A

"I knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut." The Time ghost heard his guest grumble. "Of course this would actually matter if knowing any of this changed anything."

Clockwork chuckled. "Yes, but he has accomplished much of what he set out to do." He then turned to his guest. "Despite giving up unwanted information." He then turned back to the viewing screen.

"So, what about Blu?" He asked Clockwork from behind. "You said this was the best way right?"

"That would be telling now wouldn't it?" The ancient ghost responded with a tease.

"Oh yes it would… and I know how much you love to just tell people." The guest responded with an annoyed grumble.

Clockwork watched the screen with a confident expression. "Ah, but time will always tell if you have the patience for it."

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 27

"If it hadn't been for you, I would have never been able to travel back to this time." Bart finished after explaining how Phantom and Tryon were the ones who helped him with his plan. Phantom, far more than Nightwing, was speechless to say the least. They had both heard the story of how the Reach ruled Earth in the future, but this part was definitely new.

"So….. anything else?" The team leader asked as he digested the new part to the story.

Bart shook his head. "That's it for the most part, I can't really say more than that. I've already said more than I should have." Impulse declared with his arms crossed. "Also, please don't tell anyone else. Who knows how this could mess with the timeline."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "From what you've told us so far, I think we'd want it to change."

Bart raised his arms in an X formation. "Not a crash idea. Just telling you is dangerous, besides, I can't even say if any of that will happen anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" Nightwing asked.

"I'm guessing things have already started changing." Danny deduced. "Like Green Beetle?"

Bart nodded. "Yeah, he wasn't part of the Reach take over in my time line. I don't know any more about him then you do. The biggest and weirdest change though is you." He stated as he pointed towards the halfa.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you remember how you surprised me when I first arrived in this time?" He asked.

Danny raised a brow in thought and nodded. "Yeah, I guess…. Why?"

Bart pointed to both of them. "Well the Phantom of my time never had any affiliation with the Justice League. I'm thinking that's why he was able to stay off the Reach's radar when they took over. Nobody thought you were real outside Amity Park and so the Reach didn't conceive the threat until it was too late."

Nightwing nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, but how is it that this changed before you arrived?" He started to reason. "How could the timeline change before you altered it?"

Bart understood the confusion and shared it as well. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I didn't say anything. I didn't really get how any of this happened. A lot of the stuff is the same, but…. Different too. I had almost thought my time machine goofed on me when I saw Phantom." He then gestured towards Phantom. "But you told me it was a fool proof trip. You carved those letters into the bottom and said Clockwork would get me where I needed to go."

Danny let out a groan at that. "Great…. I'm going to be the adult that talks in vague metaphors…. Perfect."

Bart shrugged. "Yeah, but you age really well. I mean you were supposed to be what? 50 something? No way more like-"

Danny cut him off with a hand in his face. "Please don't tell me anymore. I don't need know what to look forward to." He then let out a sigh. Time travel was not his favorite subject by far. "Anyway, back to what we were talking about before. You said you don't know if Plasmius was working with the Reach to make these Hunters right?"

Bart nodded. "Oh yeah, that's another weird thing. You see these things first appeared in my time only a few years before I came here. Like I said, they were made to capture you. You know fight fire with fire, ghosts with ghosts."

Nightwing turned back to the agitated creature. "So that means you don't know a lot about them then?"

Bart shook his head. "Sorry, but not really. I just know they're smart, strong and vicious to anyone they hunt."

"That's an understatement." Another voice added in. The three of them turned to see Dani approaching from the living room area. She was holding up one of her library books which Danny had recovered for her. It was torn up and dirty. "Just look what he did to my book."

"Danielle, you shouldn't be in here."

Dani gave him a pointed look. "Why, because he's going to come after me again? Somehow, I doubt that."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You're Danielle? Phantom's cousin/clone?" Impulse scrutinized.

Nightwing was immediately interested. "His what?"

Danny turned to Impulse with an annoyed expression. "Please just stop talking." He then sighed. "It's a wonder you kept anything secret this long…" He finished in a grumble.

Impulse wore a sheepish expression. "Sorry it's just… she doesn't really look anything like you…. Or the comic."

Dani tucked the book under her arm. "Oh?" She then activated her morph ring to transform into her ghost form. "How about now?" She asked while knowing the answer.

"Yeah…. Yeah now I see it." Impulse responded in a sheepish tone.

"So, a clone?" Nightwing started as he turned to Danny. He knew something was up with Danielle. He'd tried to get information on her after she came to the cave, but could only find records from the past year. There was also the matter of her not popping up in Batman's original background check.

"Yeah…. Sort of."

"Yeah, last in a line of attempted cloning attempts by his arch enemy Vlad Plasmius." Impulse interjected dramatically much to Danny's displeasure.

His greatest annoyance came from seeing the youngest halfa flinch at the villain's name. "Impulse!" The halfa said in a raised voice. "Please shut up."

The younger hero shrank away. "Oh right yeah…. Goin over there now." He said just before disappearing from sight.

Danny then let out an exasperated sigh. "It was that in a nutshell though. She's the only one left."

"Uh-huh, and I would have melted too if Danny hadn't found that stuff to stabilize me." She said in a grateful tone. She didn't seem bothered by the fact she was a clone or that anyone knew she was or wasn't at all.

"Hmm… Stabilize…" Nightwing thought before coming to a realization. "That compound?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah."

Nightwing then turned to the ghost creature. "So that's why you suddenly needed to get to Boston then. Now it makes sense."

Danny then turned to his cousin with an agreeable expression. "Oh, hey Dani, would you mind taking Cujo out? I've been kinda busy, and it slipped my mind." Dani didn't seem too happy. "Please, he's probably going nuts back in my room."

She finally relented. "Fine, but I'm not responsible if he wants to play fetch." She claimed as she walked away.

"What's wrong?" Nightwing asked once Dani was out of earshot.

"It was the conversation. Even mentioning Plasmius around her makes her anxious." He then turned back to the leader. "Since I know Plasmius is the most likely reason the Reach sent this Hunter, I didn't want her picking up on it."

The vigilante gave an understanding nod. "I see, I'll keep that in mind then."

He then wore an expression of deep thought which bothered Danny a bit. "You're not bothered by it, are you?"

"Everyone has their share of demons, I can't blame her for them." Dick responded.

"No, I mean the clone thing." Danny clarified.

"Of course not. I guess no one's mentioned it, but we already have a resident clone, Super Boy." Nightwing corrected.

Danny seemed surprised at the revelation. "Really? Hmm, small world…. Anyway, I appreciate you letting her stay here for a bit. Especially with all that's been going on recently." Considering how new he was to the team, Danny was very grateful they could make this consideration for him.

"It's not a problem Danny really. Besides, the cave's still here because of you remember?"

Danny gave a shrug. "Yeah, maybe…." He then let out a sigh.

"It's kinda early for you to sigh like that don't you think?" Gar stated as he noticed the two of them in passing. He approached to curiously gaze at the ghost in the cage. "He's not getting out right?"

"No…. did Danielle let you read that?" Danny asked after noticing a familiar object in the changeling's hand.

"Oh this book is hers? Sorry, I found it on the couch." He turned it over in his hands. "I've heard of this series, and thought it would be interesting to take a look at it." He turned it over to read the back. "A thrilling twist on science fiction." He read aloud with an interested expression. "Why not right? That-"

He was cut off as the contained ghost began growling wildly. All three of the heroes turned to him in guarded stances. The ghost had both claws on the energy field as he fruitlessly tried to break the wall. "What got him so riled all of a sudden?" Danny stated with slight curiosity.

"Mine!" It growled back as it slammed its fists on the field. "Return!"

Danny wore an annoyed expression. "Sorry, but that's a library book, and I doubt you a have a library card."

Gar then pulled open the cover. "Not to mention how you treat them."

"MINE!" The ghost shouted back adamantly with a roar this time.

Danny's brow furrowed. "What's so important about that book?" He asked aloud, while not expecting the beast to answer. "Now that I think of it, this book is way worse off than the other one."

Nightwing raised a brow. "You think it means something to him?"

"RETURN! RETURN ME!" Its rage seemed to grow the longer the book was in its sight.

"Gar, go put it away!" Danny instructed with urgency. The young teen only hesitated a moment before complying.

"Did you figure something out?" Nightwing asked as he looked at Danny curiously.

Danny only turned to the beast in the containment field with a serious expression. "Only that we may have less time than we thought." He then pointed to the glowing green puddle forming at the ghost's feet as it continued its tantrum.

* * *

An hour or so passed before Nightwing was able to get M'gann back in the cave. She had been working through an issue with Lagoon Boy for a while and the Atlantian had called her out that morning. She now stood before the containment field with an anxious expression. "Think you can give it a try?" Nightwing requested. He wanted her to try reading his thoughts to get some info on the Reach and maybe figure out why it wanted the book earlier.

"I can try… I guess." She seemed a little camera shy of using her telepathic powers since her run in with Kaldur on the Reach ship. Not only had she almost destroyed her friend's mind, but the backlash she received from Phantom still felt fresh at times. Her eyes started to glow as she concentrated on the captive ghost before her. It noticed immediately as it began to growl and its quills stood on end. At first it seemed like she wasn't getting anywhere, but then she took a breath and sharpened her focus. The irate ghost immediately fell to its knees as its gaze never left the Martian. "It….. hurts….." She stated as she gripped her arms.

"What's going on Miss M?"

She seemed sad as she responded. "It's him." She started in a sympathetic tone. "He seems to be in pain, but not from a fight…. Hold on, his memories are really hard to map." She watched as several strange scenes played out around his mind. One of them showed an older man sitting at a computer desk typing away. Another one showed a large book store with a crowd of people standing outside. "What is all this?" She then spotted what she could only identify as the ghost's mental form. It seemed to be frustrated as it thrashed around a large pile of books below. "More books?" She lowered herself to get a better look as the ghost threw book after book aside with distaste. "What are you looking for?" She asked the creature, but got no answer. She watched for a few minutes more before noticing a familiar book down by her feet. "This is the book Nightwing mentioned."

As soon as she picked it up the ghost retaliated. As soon as the ghost claws swept through her she felt a rush of emotion. She quickly found her surroundings change as she noticed the familiar lab from the Reach ship. She was being pushed along by two of the Red Beetle guards into an eerie lab. "Ah, the next subject. Good." A Reach scientist stated in an excited tone. "Let's see how this one fairs."

The next thing she knew it was like she was sleeping on a bed of needles as she broke her mental connection. "Ah!" She screamed as she fell to her knees in pain.

"M'gann!?" Nightwing called out as he kneeled down next to her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He lashed back didn't he?" Danny deduced confidently with a serious expression.

M'gann gave a nod as she subdued her trembling. "I-I think so…. It was like that time with you… what happened?" She couldn't really wrap her mind around it. Was she reliving a memory or was it a fabrication in order to get her out? "Did you create that thought before?" She asked as she was helped to her feet by Nightwing.

Danny raised a brow. "What do you mean? What thought?"

She rubbed her temple a bit as she explained. "From the Reach ship when I attacked you telepathically while you overshadowed Aqua lad. I remember this octagonal metal opening and standing inside it before a blinding flash. It was like I was being electrocuted, burned, and torn apart all at the same time…" She tried to explain in a distant tone.

Danny instantly turned his head away. "I'm sorry about that…." He apologized in a somber tone while avoiding the question. "I guess you ran into something similar with him?"

M'gann nodded. "If that was real… I think maybe we misunderstood." She then turned to Nightwing. "He might be another one of the Reach's victims. One of the kidnapped teens they experimented on." She then turned back to the ghost with a sullen expression. "What they did to him….. must have been horrible."

The ghost's eyes no longer seemed fierce, but scared as he looked on the Martian who had made contact. "Mine….." He let out in more of a whimper as he reached one claw up to the field.

Danny let out a sigh. "I guess that only makes my theory more likely then." He stated with his arms crossed. Both of his teammates awaited his elaboration with curious expressions. They had touched on it a bit last night, but Danny refused to go into detail since he didn't have any proof. "First, the Light tries to capture me along with Blu during the raid with Aqua Lad, then there's the Reach experiments I saw on the ship, and finally Plasmius is involved." He listed out on one hand. "Not to mention what I saw last night before sucking him into a thermos." He turned to the ghost with a serious and angry expression. "I think the Reach was trying to make ghost hybrids, and this is the result."

Nightwing's eyes widened at the implications. Impulse's explanation of the Hunters in the future now made more sense. What better way to fight a half ghost then with another half ghost? "About those memories you saw, how sure are you?" He asked the Martian with a serious tone.

She seemed to hesitate. "His mind was…. Confused. The thoughts and memories were a mess, but I don't think they were fabricated. I don't think he even knows who or what he is. His thoughts seemed especially concentrated though, around that book you mentioned. It was like he was trying to remember it."

After some thought, he called Beast Boy back in with the book. "Let me see it Gar."

The green teen happily handed it over after marking his place. "So what happened? I wanted to rush in before, but I didn't want him going crazy and making things worse either."

Nightwing took the book and held it in thought. "We need to confirm something." He then held the book out through the field which only restricted ghosts. The ghost seemed confused before snatching the book away hastily.

"What's up Nightwing?" Danny asked at his curious action.

"You told me ghosts do things for reasons even if they seem weird." Nightwing explained as he watched the beast turn the book over it its claws. "This one seemed adamant to get this book, so maybe giving it to him will help us figure out why."

Danny was surprised that the older teen had taken it to heart. It wasn't uncommon for people to simply ignore a ghost's quirks and label it an obsession with no ground. After watching the ghost for a few minutes he finally opened the book and flipped all the way to the last page. He held it up close to his face as he gripped it tightly. "Mine….."

"What's yours?" Nightwing asked. The ghost turned to him with a wary expression before turning the book about to show them. It was the author's page and contained a picture and brief description of the book's writer. The four of them all looked it over as they thought over what it meant. "Arthur Braxton." Nightwing read aloud. "Braxton….. I've seen that name somewhere before." He then turned and headed over to the computer interface.

"How about the New York Times Best Sellers list?" Beast Boy pointed out. "It says it on the back cover."

Danny shook his head as he watched the ghost begin to cradle the book with it open in his hands. "No…. I don't think it's the book that's important at all." He began as he turned to Nightwing.

"That's what I'm thinking." He then scrolled down a list of names.

Gar seemed lost as he thought about it while Miss Martian simply looked at the ghost with pity. "Maybe that's his name then?" Gar suggested.

M'gann was quick to correct him. "No…. I saw that man in his memories…."

"Right, he's not Arthur Braxton." Nightwing confirmed as he brought up a missing person's report. "He's his son." The others quickly turned their attentions to the screen. "William Braxton, 14, reported missing in February. It was around the same time as many of the other Reach abductions so his file was flagged. There were dozens of others flagged as well, but this is the only one that makes sense." Nightwing explained before turning towards his teammates. "I guess we didn't get all of the victims out of the Reach labs after all." He added in with a solemn tone.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Danny shouted as he noticed what the ghost had now begun to do. His anger renewed, the ghost beast began to thrash about the containment field again only much more wildly. He let out frustrated growls and grunts with every failed attempt.

"It's going to hold?" Nightwing wondered as he dashed back over in a defensive stance.

"Yeah, but that wasn't the problem." Danny stated as he looked at the floor below the beast. "The more energy he uses, the faster he'll deteriorate."

"We have to do something!" M'gann proclaimed as she watched the puddle grow.

"How can we stop it?" Nightwing asked as he turned to the halfa.

"I can't stop it. Once it hits a certain point, he can't go back! He'll be too unstable!"

Gar then seemed to have an idea. "Then stabilize him!" He shouted with confidence at Danny. "You said you did it before right?"

Danny's eyes widened as he turned to Nightwing. "It might work this time too." Dick hesitated a moment before nodding and running off to get the compound. Danny then picked up the interface remote and turned a dial. "Just calm down for a sec." He insisted with the reinforcement of a shock from the field. The ghost jumped away with what space he had, but went right back to his tantrum soon after. Danny let out a sigh. "I guess that didn't work…." He then turned the dial back down. "Alright, I'm gonna let him out. I could use a bit of help keeping him still."

Both Gar and Miss M, agreed. "No problem."

He brought down the field and the ghost jumped forwards with vigor. Danny quickly intercepted him by grabbing his horns. "Alright Beast Boy, I'm gonna need you to grab these and help M'gann hold him in place so I can restrain him." Gar responded by turning into a gorilla and jumping in when Danny moved. M'gann assisted her blood brother by using her telekinesis to help keep him still. Danny then flew over the group and pushed the ghost down on his hands and knees while protecting himself with a coat of ice on his arms. After getting him down far enough, Danny quickly iced over his hands, feet and tail with ice to pin him to the floor. "This would be a lot easier if he wasn't covered in quills." The halfa grumbled. Gar agreed with a grunt from the strain. The horns were one of the only places he could grab the ghost where he wouldn't get pricked.

Trying to restrain the ghost without hurting him only grew more difficult before Nightwing finally returned with the compound. "Alright, how much do I use and where?" He asked the halfa in determination.

"Use it all, and anywhere you can, it doesn't matter!" The halfa shouted back in a strained voice.

Nightwing quickly complied as he injected the serum into the ghost's shoulder and backed off. The beast roared in pain before his movements grew less powerful. Danny was the first to release his hold and M'gann and Gar followed suit. The young changeling transformed back to his usual self before speaking. "Is it working?" The ghost seemed to be squirming around in pain before beginning to melt again. The speed of his deterioration increased in leaps and bounds before even his basic shape was melting into the floor.

Impulse decided to pop in to see all the commotion just in time to see the ghost's head melt into the puddle. "Whoa!? What happened to it?"

"Did he…." Gar started but couldn't finish as the ectoplasmic puddle remained still.

Bart kneeled down in curiosity. "You destroyed it? Crash!"

Gar looked at him angrily. "Not crash! We were trying to help him!"

Bart raised a brow. "Help it? Why help it? That thing is just a mindless drone to the Reach."

"No, he was a victim of it." Nightwing corrected with a solemn tone as he looked down at the puddle.

M'gann let out a sad sigh as she turned away. "I'm sorry."

"Hold on just a minute." Danny interjected as he pulled Impulse and Gar away. They all turned to see the ectoplasm begin to stir. The first thing to reform was an arm which reached out to claw the ground. It looked as if the ghost was climbing out of a puddle of himself as his upper body formed to claw the ground for leverage. As more of his back became solid, Danny noticed something strange and reached over for it. He yanked it free from the ghost before it could merge back into him. Once his body was completely reformed he collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. It was a strange sight to them all. The once large ghost was now a very scrawny and smaller version of itself. The horns were much shorter and his feet looked more human than animal now.

Gar kneeled down beside his head. "So it did work after all?" He questioned as he looked up to Danny.

"Yeah, it just takes a minute to kick in." He then walked around to Nightwing and held out his hand. "I found this in him as he was reforming." He dropped a small insect like device with several long wires sticking out. "It looks damaged, but I don't really know."

Nightwing looked it over in his hand. "This could be some sort of control device, or maybe a locater." He reasoned. "Though if it was, I think the Reach would have retaliated by now." Their attentions were then caught by a low groan from the floor.

The young ghost seemed to be waking up as he slowly began to push himself up off the floor and onto his legs in a sloppy seiza position. "The floor?... The heck was I doing sleeping on the floor?" He asked himself groggily. He then began to rub his eyes a bit to remove the sleep.

"You okay?" Gar inquired as he moved over in front of the new halfa.

He let down his hands to be met with a green boy with monkey like facial hair. He immediately jumped back. "Whoa! The heck?!"

"So is that a yes?" Gar asked without thinking much on the other boy's reaction.

The ghost seemed confused as he calmed a bit. "Who are you?... what are you?"

Beast Boy raised a brow in return. "My names Garfield, and I'm human."

The ghost showed a shaky skepticism. "But you're green!"

Gar seemed almost insulted by the comment as he pointed at the ghost. "Well so are you!"

The boy paused a moment at the accusation. His confusion was evident as he scrutinized Garfield. "What…?" He then lifted one of his hands. "I'm not….. Wha!?" He quickly held up his other claw like hand in confusion. "What…. What the heck?!"

"Just calm down Will." He turned to the female Martian in slight panic.

"Calm down!?" He then jumped away from her. "Oh man, you're green too!" He took a glance back at his hands. "What did you do to me!?"

Nightwing was the next to step in to try and manage the situation. "We haven't done anything to hurt you. Just calm down." He tried in a calm tone.

"But I'm green! I'm not supposed to be green!" He yelled in a panic as he grabbed the front of the hero's suit.

"I know, but we can't explain anything until you calm down." He ordered a bit more sternly as he pulled the young teen's hands off.

"Over here." He heard a new voice call.

As he turned he was met with a foreign reflection. "Who…. Who is that?" He asked in a fearful manner.

Danny then slid the reflective baking pan down. "Sorry, but that's you."

The boy quickly dashed over and grabbed the pan. He held it up to look at himself. "No!... No that's…. it…." He stammered in disbelief. He then impulsively slammed his head into it only to see two dents left by his horns.

"Aw…. That could have made some tasty cookies." Impulse groaned at the waste.

Danny gave him a pointed look before addressing the new halfa again. "Like I said, sorry, but it's true."

The younger ghost turned to him in shock before it morphed into disbelief. "How-… Wait…. You're Danny Phantom."

Danny raised a brow. "Yeah..."

Will then began to laugh and dropped the pan. "Now it makes sense!" He let out in relief much to the confusion of the others.

"What makes sense?" Gar questioned.

Will turned to him. "This." He gestured around himself. "I'm obviously dreaming." He said in a confident tone. "Albeit this is a really weird dream. I'm some kind of mutant porcupine and I'm talking to green people and a comic book character, but a dream is a dream."

Impulse leaned towards Gar and whispered. "Maybe we should just let him go on thinking that?" Gar didn't seem against the idea as he watched the halfa continue to laugh at his strange surroundings.

Nightwing traded a glance with M'gann before stepping towards the new halfa. "Look I know this may seem strange, but it's not a dream."

Will didn't believe him for a second. "It obviously is. None of this could possibly be real." He was then suddenly jerked to the side and turned to face Danny again. The older halfa then proceeded to flick him straight on the forehead with an unamused expression. "'Ouch!" Will responded in agitation. "That hurt."

Danny nodded. "It did didn't it? Some dream huh?"

Will looked at him in frustration before understanding the repercussions of what just happened. If he were indeed dreaming and was aware he was, then he couldn't get hurt like that….. right? He rubbed the spot on his forehead and then quickly felt the horns that adorned it. "I'm not dreaming….. am I….?"

"Nope, but it could be worse you know." Impulse pointed out. "You could still be a mindless slave of the Reach."

Will furrowed his horned brow. "What's the Reach? And when was I a slave to it?"

"Wait, what's the last thing you remember?" Danny decided to finally asked as Will's statements continued to confuse.

The younger ghost raised a brow and thought a moment. "Let's see….. I was waiting at a train station. My dad was chosen to be Author of the month by the Boston Book club. He was supposed to spend the whole month of February doing stuff like signings, but after a week I couldn't take it anymore. I was going home."

M'gann turned to Nightwing with a serious expression. "He doesn't remember any of it."

Nightwing nodded. "Doesn't seem like it."

"Remember what? How did I get like…. Like this?" Will asked in frustration.

Nightwing let out a sigh and wore a sympathetic expression. "We should probably call in Black Canary."

* * *

**So there we go... I still don't feel this is exactly what I was going for, but it'll have to do. Hopefully it wasn't confusing to any of you. So just a few points I'd like to go over:**

**I know that half ghost OCs are really common, but I like to think Will isn't just some random (insert Name here followed by Phantom) character you generally see. He's going to be more like the other kids taken by the Reach... of course I may do something more with him if I find it helpful for the story. He will be a reoccurring character in later chapters regardless though.**

**I did something different for Dani here. In the show, she is not as strong as Danny, and cannot do everything he can. In this way, she reminds me a bit of Superboy which is why I took the time to do that bit near the beginning. For my story, the fact that she's a clone doesn't bother her, but the idea of fighting against Danny does. Also, since Plasmius tried to turn her into a puddle, I'd like to think she'd be at least a little scared of him, like trauma or something. (Of course that won't stop her from fighting.) Also, if it's not completely obvious, Danny is over protective of her and so he doesn't like her doing anything even remotely dangerous like coming into the room with the ghost that mauled her. This is just my characterization of her.**

**I realize Impulse is a bit mean and apathetic in this chapter, but keep in mind how he is most of the time. He's kind of a big mouth, whether that's intentional or not, and blurts things out. Also, he doesn't like the hunters for obvious reasons.**

**I think that just about covers it, so please review if its not too much trouble. Questions are also welcome.=^-^=**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Fix

**So another chapter... Hope it's okay. It's spring break for me and I just felt like working on it. My OC does figure prominently here, but it's really more for solidifying his character. It's also very long... I should be running back into the Invasion timeline by the next chapter.**

**Ch. 14 - The Fix**

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 27

"I'm guessing things took a turn after that?" Nightwing asked as he stood in the counseling room with Black Canary.

"More than a turn, he shut down. Unlike the other children abducted by the Reach he doesn't have any memory of them. He wouldn't stop looking towards the window. He's not in denial about what happened, he's angry." She explained with tone of council.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" Nightwing asked.

"Not far I imagine. When he ran out, he didn't seem too aware of what he was doing. He phased through the door accidently before leaving all together." The psychologist had spent about an hour with the boy, and it was only productive in ascertaining the boy was unpredictable in his current mind set. "He asked me questions about his appearance and powers I couldn't answer." She then gave a serious expression. "I think he'd do better talking with someone who can."

Dick raised a brow, but quickly nodded in understanding. "I could try, but Phantom was in a hurry to get somewhere and he didn't sound too interested in the idea."

* * *

_ "So since you and him are both half ghost, I thought you could help him understand what's going on once Black Canary talks to him." _

_Danny was disinterested in the idea as he zipped up his backpack. "Sorry, but I told you I needed to meet with someone today. Besides, you're sending him to Star Labs right? I'm sure a team of scientist could be just as helpful." Phantom then headed over to the already open ghost portal._

_ "But you-" _

_Danny cut him off. "Sorry, but I have to go." Phantom left without another word or hesitation. _

_"So much for that plan…." He muttered to himself as he turned to leave. Phantom's answer was pretty unexpected to say the least. He was always ready to help since he agreed to join. Nightwing let out a sigh. "I guess I'll have to leave it to Dr. Wilcox."_

* * *

After Black Canary finished telling him all she knew, Nightwing left the room to think over what he would do about it. Beast Boy had already taken Cujo out to find Will along with Wolf. The leader let out a sigh as he thought on what to do. "I heard Will ran off?" He turned to see a curious Danielle flipping through the ruined book from before.

"Yeah." Nightwing responded before a thought came to him. Danielle, being a clone of Danny, was technically a half ghost too so maybe she could help. "By the way Danielle, do you think you could help me with something?"

Dani raised a brow. "Sure I guess. What is it?"

"When Beast Boy brings Will back, could you talk to him? Danny's theory is that he's half ghost like you two."

The young halfa seemed to think on it a moment before shrugging. "I don't know if anything I say would help him. I couldn't really tell him anymore than you could."

Nightwing was obviously confused by the statement. "What do you mean?"

Dani held her chin in thought a moment. "Well, cause I don't know what I could tell him. I could tell him he's half ghost, but you can tell him that." Seeing he was still confused she decided to ask a question of her own. "You already asked Danny didn't you?"

The vigilante let out a sigh. "Yeah I did, but he was in a hurry and said something similar to what you just told me."

Dani couldn't help but laugh at that. "Figures, he's never been good with personal issues." She crossed her arms as she continued. "You see I was born with my powers, Danny wasn't. Seeing someone else in his position all of a sudden, he probably doesn't really know how to deal with it."

Nightwing seemed to get the picture from her explanation. It made sense especially with how Danny was acting after that morning's incident with Will. "I see, I just thought he'd want to help him out because of their similar situations."

Dani shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, he probably does. Considering recent events, he also probably doesn't want the extra responsibility though, but he'll come around….. probably." She added in the end hesitantly.

Nightwing gave a shrug, but seemed satisfied. "I hope he does. He'd make a pretty good mentor in my opinion." He'd seen the way a lot of the younger team members talked to him. Even if he was newer to the team, many of them seemed to look up to him.

* * *

Ghost Zone, FarFrozen Realm – April 27

Frostbite welcomed his friend with open arms as he arrived in the frosty realm. "Ah Great One! It is wonderful to see you are well." He then bowed in respect before continuing. "It is good you were able to come on such short notice."

Danny waved it off. "It's not a problem Frostbite, really. So what was it you needed me to see?"

The FarFrozen's expression became serious as he guided the way into one of the caverns. "Oh yes, a grave matter indeed. We have been picking up some strange energies which we have only recently come to find originate in the human realm." They entered a large room where many FarFrozen were working with computers. Frostbite led him over to one of the consoles in the back of the room. "Look here." He pointed to a radar screen which showed an energy pulse. "We cannot find a specific starting point. It comes and goes and always in a new place, but the origin is definitely in the human realm."

"The test data you requested sir." Another FarFrozen said as he approached with some sort of tablet.

Frostbite took it readily. "Good work."

"Sir" He responded with a strike of his chest.

Frostbite held up the data and scrolled through. "Ah, it seems we were correct." He lowered to show Danny. "The areas affected by the energies are showing higher portal concentrations."

Danny furrowed his brow. "So this energy is making more portals? Why?"

Frostbite shook his head. "I do not know Great One. We were hoping you could tell us." He then pulled up another section showing a density level. "Also, it is not creating more portals. We believe it is actually thinning the boarders between the Ghost Zone and the Mortal Realm. The areas affected so far, have only been temporarily effected, but who knows if or when it could become permanent."

"But if the border between our worlds disappears…. Oh crud…." Danny said as he thought back to when Pariah Dark invaded Amity Park.

"Indeed Great One. The repercussions could prove disastrous even to the Ghost Zone."

Danny took a moment to think. "So how can we stop this? Can you be any more specific about where in my world it's coming from?"

Frostbite wore a frown. "I cannot I'm sorry to say. The Ghost Zone will naturally distort almost any form of energy once it crosses into it. The energy signature will most definitely have been distorted as well. Our best recourse is finding a way to stop the degradation from occurring here."

Danny sighed. "I thought you were going to say that….. Any ideas?"

"Nothing at the moment, but we have been working on a few things." Frostbite looked over his people as they worked diligently. "It is all we can do for the moment."

Danny gave a nod. "Well, I'll see what I can find back home. I've been working on a city scale Ghost Shield. I bet I could reconfigure it to fire a reverse poleric charge to close any portals like I did with my thermos. It's not much, but it's something I can work on."

Frostbite seemed pleased. "I'm confident you can find a solution Great One."

* * *

Happy Harbor – April 27

It took a couple of hours, but Beast Boy was able to track Will down to a park just inside the city. Cujo had been the first to catch the scent, and Wolf followed close behind. They both circled a tree as Gar flew in as a small bird. He circled the tree himself a moment before diving in and landing on a branch. "Oh….. it's you, that green kid." Will noted from the scent in the air.

Gar transformed back and looked towards the source of the voice. The glowing red eyes that greeted him were unsettling at first, but it wore off rather quickly. "That's Beast Boy." He then reached up to his ear. "I found him Nightwing. We're in the park." He received a confirmation before addressing Will again. "Come on Will. You have to come back."

The ghost cut his eyes. "So you just came to drag me back there? No way. As soon as it's dark enough, I'm going home."

Gar raised a brow at him. "You think dark is going to help much? You do realize you kinda glow? Besides, how do you expect to get home? Walk?"

Will crossed his arms. "If I have too. I'm not going back to Mount Hero, that's for sure. I don't want any part of this alien stuff."

"That's going to be pretty hard then since you were nabbed by them. We just want to help you know."

Will scoffed at him. "You guys did plenty. Phantom was so nice as to show me how much of a freak I was and all." He then turned away. "No thanks."

Gar furrowed his brow. "Come on, Phantom wasn't trying to be mean, he was just trying to get you to see the big picture."

"Yeah the big freaky picture." Will grumbled back.

"Look, I'm not going to say you don't look freaky, but you shouldn't get so down about it. As soon as we get you back to STAR Labs they can work on getting you back to normal."

Will's interest was piqued by that little bit of news. "Normal? Can they?"

Gar gave a nod. "If anyone can, it's them. Besides you're not the only not normal one around." Gar informed as he gestured to himself. "I know it's not easy being green."

* * *

Star Labs, Tao – April 28

After being brought back to the cave Will had been taken to Star Labs sometime in the mid-afternoon, and after a meeting with Dr. Wilcox, he was taken into the testing wing where the other kids were taking a break. Dr. Wilcox was head of all research pertaining to the teens rescued from the Reach. "This way William, we'll get you some clothes and you can join the others." The doctor informed in his standard monotone voice. Although the boy's appearance scared him a bit, Nightwing assured him he was harmless. Will's nervousness throughout the conversation settled him further as the concept of this 14 year old teen being trapped under spiny green fur set in.

He was guided into a small supply room where another scientist handed him a white jumpsuit. Will took it quietly as the scientists spoke. "Excuse me… Dr. Wilcox…" He seemed nervous about the boy as his eyes went back and forth between Wilcox and Will.

"Relax, he's another teen taken by the Reach." The doctor signed something before handing it over to the assistant. "Hurry up and get that on." He directed the boy.

The halfa looked at the clothes before stepping into them. It didn't take long for his perspective problem to come out. "Uh…. Sir?"

Dr. Wilcox looked at him with impatience before seeing the tail problem. He seemed annoyed rather than sympathetic as he adjusted his glasses. "I see." He then turned towards the assistant. "Go get me some scissors." About 20 minutes later Dr. Wilcox brought him into the testing room where the other teens had been left to wait.

"It's about time." Virgil whined as he got up from his chair. "If we're gonna take a break, at least let us out of the room."

"Yeah, I could've got something to eat." Ed added in as he leaned back in his chair.

Dr. Wilcox didn't even give their complaints a response as he began to address them. "I've got a new friend for you. Please give William a warm welcome." He sounded rather sarcastic as he stepped aside to reveal the scrawny yet monstrous teen.

Virgil's eyes widened as he pointed at him. "That's that creature that attacked us on that Reach ship!"

Will instantly took a step back at the accusation. "I what?! I-I don't know what you're taking about."

"No." Tye corrected as he stood up. "That thing was huge. This guy…. He's the same height as me." He approached with a stoic expression. "But he does look like him."

Will was nervous as he responded. "I really don't know what you guys are talking about. I only found out about the Reach yesterday."

Tye traded glances with the other teens before turning back to him. "Then why are you here?"

Dr. Wilcox adjusted his glasses as he interrupted them. "William, unlike the rest of you, has no memory of being kept by the Reach. Now, let's get back to business shall we?" He then headed into the observation room to dictate the session. Despite their common kidnapping, the other teens didn't seem to like him at all as they kept their distance. Needless to say, Will was more uneasy here than he ever was in the cave.

* * *

Ghost Zone, FarFrozen Realm – April 28

After spending the night with FarFrozen hospitality Danny was getting a copy of the data on the portals before leaving to get back to the cave. Tundra, Frostbite's second in command, was quick to supply him with the information and a respectful salute. "As you requested Great One."

"Thanks Tundra." As he turned to leave he heard the FarFrozen clear his throat.

"Before you take your leave, Lord Frostbite wishes to see you."

Danny nodded. "I was planning to go see him before I left anyway." He would never dream of leaving without saying goodbye to Frostbite. He owed him a lot, and more than he could ever repay. As he headed for Frostbite's quarters many FarFrozen he passed would stop and salute him with a fist to their chests, or even bowing. While he never liked this sort of attention, he had given up ever getting them to stop. It thankfully only took him a few minutes since Frostbite lived so close to their central control. "Hey Frostbite, I was just letting you know I'm going back now." He announced as he entered the room.

Frostbite, who had been rummaging through a cabinet turned to him in greeting. "Ah, just in time Great One. I have been meaning to give this to you for some time." He held up a small silver band. "This is a band of mastery. The trophy given to all who prove worthy in the Ice Trials. When you competed last year you too should have been awarded one, but you had left before I could give it to you. You should know Diamond Dust has been waiting eagerly for a rematch since you bested him."

Danny almost laughed at that. "A rematch of what? I got lucky. If it weren't for the height difference, he would have never missed."

Frostbite shook a finger at him. "A great warrior is defined by how he uses his resources and not by how disadvantageous the victory." He then presented it to the halfa. "Please take it now and wear it with pride."

Danny didn't move to take it and turned away. "No…. I can't."

Frostbite was bewildered by the response. No one had ever refused the honor of wearing a Band of Mastery before. "Why not Great One? It is an honor rightly given."

Danny shook his head. "I don't deserve anything like that. I'm not a master of anything."

Now Frostbite was confused. "Come now Great One. What is it that bothers you so?"

Danny turned to the earnest ghost. There were only a few people he knew that he could really talk too. Frostbite was probably the wisest one of them aside from Clockwork, but he always talked in riddles. "You know how I'm half ghost and there's supposed to be two others right? Well, there might be a fourth now."

Frostbite raised a brow. "That seems quite strange, but why does that bother you Great One? Do they cause problems in the human realm?"

Danny shook his head. "No, but if I hadn't been such an idiot it would have never happened. I should have known something was up when Plasmius left me alone so easily. Why would he do that unless he was planning something!? Of course he was…. And now halfa number four has to pay for it."

"Ah!" Frostbite said in revelation. "So that is the problem. You see yourself as responsible for this new halfa because you could not protect him." He shook his head. "That is unwise Great One. You could never know all the evils capable of those such as Plasmius. You are not like him. You can only do what you can to make things right when he has made them wrong." He then placed his claws on both Danny's shoulders. "Just as when you defeated the Ghost King after he so foolishly let him free."

Danny chuckled at that. "I always end up cleaning up that jerk's messes…." He then out a sigh. "It's my responsibility."

Frostbite gave a nod. "Yes Great One for you are a very responsible individual. To do what is right is a duty not a chore." He then took the band and placed it on Danny's right upper arm. "Now should you wish to talk again, I will always welcome your company."

Danny looked at the trinket with a laugh. "Oh, I already know that. It's kind of hard to miss."

* * *

Mt. Justice – April 28

After Danny returned to the cave Gar was the first to greet him as he followed Cujo back into the halfa's room. "I guess that's what he was all crazy about." The changeling commented as Danny deactivated the portal.

"Hey Gar, what's up?" Danny placed a small box onto his desk which attracted Beast Boy's curiosity.

"Nothing really. Will was taken to STAR Labs yesterday. I was kind of wondering where you were after that."

Danny raised a brow. "He was huh? Anyway, an old friend of mine needed to talk to me about something important, but it's nothing you need to worry about."

"Hmm? Noted." Gar responded before pointing towards the box. "By the way, what's in the box?"

Danny flipped the lid and pulled out a snow white bun. "A souvenir. They're called Snow Buns. Wanna try one?"

Gar scrutinized the bun as he took it from the older hero. Danny then proceeded to take one himself and took a big bite. "Are they sweet?"

Danny nodded as he swallowed. "Oh yeah, but no sugar. They practically melt in your mouth though." He took another bite as he closed the box and headed for the door.

"It's really cold… like ice cream." Gar analyzed before taking a bite himself.

"Kinda, and they do need to be refrigerated."

Gar seemed to enjoy it as he swallowed his first bite. "Oh wow- ah!" He gripped his head with his free hand. "Cold!"

Danny turned to him with an amused brow raised. "Are you okay?"

Gar shook his head as he took a breath. "Brain f-freeze…" Danny shook his head as he took the final bite of his. He then continued down the hall with Garfield right behind him still holding his head from the shock.

As they exited the hall M'gann noticed them from the kitchen. She seemed bothered by something until she noticed the pained expression on her adopted brother's face. "Gar? Are you okay?" She approached from behind the counter.

He winced as he looked at her. "Yeah…. Just brain freeze." He let go of his head and scrutinized the offending bun.

"Brain freeze? From that?"

He nodded. "Yeah…." He seemed to be thinking over something intently as Danny placed down the box.

"You want one?"

She shook her head. "No thank you."

"Probably a good idea…. That hurt." Gar commented as he prepared to toss the bun aside. He then noticed Cujo sitting at his feet panting and an idea came to mind. "Hmm?" He rubbed his chin a moment before lowering the bun to the spectral hound. Cujo sniffed it before quickly grabbing it from the boy's hand. He dashed over by the couch and took a bite. Gar watched as Wolf was attracted to the new food from his comfortable spot on the couch. As Cujo enjoyed a piece Wolf leaned down to scarf up what he left unguarded. Seconds later two harsh whines were heard as both dogs pawed at their faces and rolled along the ground.

"What did you do?" Danny asked as he took notice of the pained animals that Gar was watching intently. "Uh…. Experiment?"

Super Boy dashed into the room at the noise and saw the strange scene. "What happened?" He asked as he turned to the three in the kitchen.

Gar wore a sheepish expression as he responded. "Brain freeze?" The kryptonian raised a brow at the explanation.

* * *

Star Labs Tao – May 6

Dr. Wilcox was heading another practice session for the teens as was the daily routine. It was almost noon as Virgil was focusing his electrical powers on moving a hand weight. He was only able to hold it up a few feet much to the exasperation of the scientists watching. The young teen seemed strained as his control faltered. "Keep focused." Dr. Wilcox instructed from the viewing room. Virgil glared at him as he held the weight, but lost his focus completely at the shout of surprise from behind.

The weight slammed hard onto the table as he turned to see Will phasing through the floor in a panic. "Help! I can't stop!" He scrambled his arms as he phased down to his waist. Ed and Tye were the first to get to him and took both of his arms which were still solid.

Virgil joined in as the three of them pulled the poor halfa out of the floor. "Man, you okay?" He asked as Will's feet became solid and he stood on his own.

"No…" He muttered out with fear marring his face. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence even though he'd only been there for a few days.

Will's intangibility would act up several times a day much to the frustration of Dr. Wilcox, who gets interrupted because of it. "Will, you have to keep focused, or you'll keep losing control of your powers."

The quilled teen wore a frown as he turned to him. "How am I supposed to focus every minute of every second?" He whined in a panicked exasperation.

"I don't know, but if you don't, you're gonna fall through more than just the floor." Ed commented as he took back his seat.

Seeing the session break down, Dr. Wilcox looked at his watch and sighed. "Why don't you take 20 for lunch. Then we can try this again." He almost seemed to groan.

Tye crossed his arms as he watched the man exit out another door. "Geez, that guy's as bad as the Reach." He then headed over to the door himself with several of the other teens following.

Will was last in the lineup as he lagged behind. He kept his distance from the others especially when the Reach was mentioned. He was different from them in more than just his appearance, and they showed it most of the time. While they're more then quick to help him, they usually left him alone otherwise. It didn't really surprise him though. Who wants to hang out with a spiny horned freak? As he followed the others down the hall he smelled something strangely familiar. Over the past few days he'd been getting somewhat accustomed to his strange form and with it came a very sensitive nose. He turned down a hall a little ways away and saw a few men in white suits on the other end speaking to a scientist. They then followed that scientist into a room. "Who are they?" He then realized he'd been left behind and quickly moved to join the other teens in the cafeteria for lunch.

* * *

Mt. Justice – May 5

It was late in the afternoon when Danny got back into his room. He'd gone to visit his sister in Boston in order to get some school work for Dani since she'd been missing classes. He didn't want her going back just yet since she was targeted by the Reach, but she still needed to do the work if she was to be elevated to Sophmore come fall.

His current project, which he'd been keeping in a corner of his room under a tarp, was only about half way finished. It was a tall cylindrical beam with four legs to hold it up from the sides. It sort of resembled a missile, but had quite the opposite purpose. Danny inspected the messy wiring, that was sticking out of several uncovered spots, as he thought over where to start. He then reached out to the top as he floated up. "Might as well fix this part first." After only an hour or so of working, he was interrupted by a phone call. He raised his working goggles onto his forehead as he answered. "Yeah Tuck?"

_"Got some info for ya. Guess who just made the GIW watch list?"_

Danny raised a brow. "Someone who deserves it I hope." He let out in annoyance.

"_No, it's that kid. The one at STAR Labs."_

Danny stopped fiddling with the wires. "What the….. how could they have found him?... Never mind…." He answered himself as he thought on it. "I have a pretty good idea of who it was."

"_Thought so, anyway, now what? They've already made contact inside the building. It looks like they're taking the smart approach to this one."_

Danny took a moment to think about it. "Well, he's not a public scapegoat like me. In STAR Labs he's considered a metahuman with rights."

"_Until those guys tell them otherwise right?_" Tucker corrected with a serious tone. _"Their game is pretty easy to read."_

Danny rolled his eyes at the 'oh so true' statement. "Yeah, but maybe I can talk to Nightwing about it. The Taos building is part of the league and he should be able to do something about it."

* * *

Star Labs, Taos – May 9

Getting the young leader's help was easy like Danny had thought, but it did come with a slight catch. The two of them now sat in a meeting room in Star Labs with Black Canary waiting for Dr. Wilcox. The blonde heroin watched the halfa with an analytical gaze as he sat quietly pretending not to notice. Nightwing welcomed the break in the tension once the waited for scientist entered the room. "Dr. Wilcox, about what I mentioned earlier."

"Yes I believe you are right. They've already been attempting to get his files, not that we have much for them to take." The scientist revealed in frustration. "He hasn't made any progress at all and none of our scanners are equipped to tell us why."

"What did those agents tell you exactly?" Nightwing inquired as he took a glance at the quiet halfa.

"They came in a few days ago and demanded custody of Will. According to them, we were not equipped to handle the boy, and they would be better suited to help him." Black Canary took note of the halfa's body language as he rolled his eyes distastefully. The scientist sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I was ready to agree before I received your call last night. I've been keeping him in a separate lab since then."

"Good call." Nightwing said with a nod. "From what Phantom has told me, they don't really think much about collateral damage."

"Does Will know anything?" Canary questioned. She'd been rather worried about him since she'd talked with him, and how his powers were affecting him.

"I haven't told him anything." Dr. Wilcox responded with a shake of his head. "But considering his situation, he should probably be taken somewhere else. If there's something those GIW agents weren't lying about, it was that we aren't equipped to help him. We can't even understand his powers let alone a cure for them."

"There is no cure." Phantom cut in, finally breaking his silence. "Unless you guys have a way of de-hybridizing a hybrid, he can't go back."

While the two heroes seemed interested, Dr. Wilcox looked more skeptical. "By hybrid you are referring to the ghost part yes?" He started with an unbelieving tone. "I'm sorry Phantom, but you'll have to forgive me when I say I don't understand the concept of 'half ghost'" He expressed in air quotes.

"Perhaps if you could explain Danny, we could help more." Black Canary suggested in a passive and soft voice.

"That's a good idea. I've been pretty curious myself." Nightwing agreed. Ever since he'd met Danny, the teen had been very secretive. He never liked to talk about himself much unless he had too. He himself had been skeptical of ghosts until he'd met the halfa, but now that he did believe, more information was welcome.

Danny took a moment to think before letting out a held breath. "I guess I should start with the ghost part then. Despite whatever scary stories, or spooky legend you heard about them, ghosts are not a bunch of evil smoky creatures out to scare you. They are also not what you define as dead. It would be better to say they are interdimensional creatures; very alive in their own way. It just so happens that sometimes they'll form as a result of someone's death."

Though still obviously skeptical, Dr. Wilcox did seem to be trying to understand what he was told. "So you are basically saying his hybrid status should be viewed as any other hybrid would?"

"Sort of." Danny tried to convey. "A half ghost is a hybrid, but not necessarily two things in one. It's more like flipping back and forth."

"Flipping….." The scientist muttered in annoyed confusion.

"Sort of?" Danny reiterated. "I really can't explain it….." He expressed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He then seemed to get an idea as he turned to Nightwing. "Wait how about this. Let's use Super Boy as an example. He's half human and half kryptonian right?"

"Right." The vigilante confirmed with a tone of scrutiny.

"Alright, but he's both a human and kryptonian at the same time. He can't change that." He then gestured to himself. "I'm half ghost, but right now I'm physically a ghost, not human. That means that every single molecule I have right now is composed entirely of ectoplasm even though I'm still half human. I can choose to change back to a human physically whenever I want. When I do, I lose all physical traces of being a ghost."

"That's what the ring of light is right?" Nightwing questioned as he thought back to their first meeting. "That's how you're able to change?"

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah like this." He then formed the bright ring around his waist, but he didn't let it get far in changing him back.

Nightwing then seemed to have a sudden realization. "Wait, that's what was happening to Will back in the park. You recognized it as the same ring of energy you use."

Danny gave a nod. "Yeah even if it looked a little weird, I don't doubt that's what it was. It was probably as unstable as he was."

"Not that this isn't fascinating Phantom, but there is a problem with your explanation." Wilcox said with an air of superiority. "Will hasn't shown any signs of changing back to normal, or human as you defined it. If he had, I'm sure we would have had more to show for it based on how you defined the transformation."

Now Danny was the one to seem confused. "Hmm? Now that is weird. I would have thought he'd have changed back at least by accident." He then turned to Black Canary. "He didn't look like he could control his powers before right?"

She shook her head but Wilcox spoke before her. "No, he doesn't. His biggest problems are shredding his clothes and phasing through the floor."

"See that sounds normal." Danny pointed out with confusion still marring his face. "But I know what I saw, and it makes sense except the not changing back part."

Black Canary then stood up. "Will should probably hear this too. He deserves that much."

Dr. Wilcox agreed as he stood with her. "I'll take you to him." The scientist then lead her out and left the teen heroes alone.

After a short silence Nightwing leaned forwards with a calm air. "I don't want this to sound like I'm forcing anything on you, but I really think you'd be the best one to help him with his powers. I mean who better than the original half ghost?"

Danny shook his head. "Not exactly Nightwing. I'm not the original."

The older hero raised a brow. "You're not? But Danielle isn-"

"Is the third halfa. I'm the second. If you include Will, that makes four." Danny interrupted with a more serious expression.

"Then who's the first?"

It wasn't a hard question of course. Danny has wanted to blurt it out on more than one occasion, but couldn't. "Plasmius." He finally revealed with a solemn expression.

"Plasmius….."Nightwing repeated as he took it in. It explained a small portion of the halfa's behavior when it came to the villain, but there was a bigger question at hand. "Then he has a human identity just like you." The hero deduced easily but seriously.

Danny gave a confirming nod. "Yeah..." He then took a breath and looked Nightwing straight in the eye. "And I trust you enough to tell you his name, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else. I can understand an emergency, but only if it is absolutely necessary. The last resort okay?"

Nightwing understood the serious request as it was, but not really the reasons. "Sure Phantom, but why?"

"Mutual destruction." Danny stated rather quickly but adamantly. "If his gets out, he'll make sure mine does too. It's been a sort of forced agreement from day one. Not one I'm proud of, but I don't want to break it either. Anyway, this may or may not come as shock, but you probably know him."

Nightwing raised a brow. "I do?"

"Well not personally, but the name should be familiar. Vlad Masters, also known as the previous mayor of Amity Park."

* * *

Master's Manor, Wisconsin – May 9

"Oh this is turning out better than I could have ever thought." Vlad stated in amusement as he entered back into his lab from his portal.

"Plasmius." Skulker called from the stairs.

The elder halfa turned with an annoyed look. "What is it Skulker? Can't you see I'm in a good mood?"

Skulker nodded with a smirk. "Yes I can, but I bet I can make it better."

"Can you now? That could only mean you were able to isolate the stabilizing agent you attained from Danielle." Plasmius deduced with a curious air.

"Yes, but that is not quite what I meant. Since you were not here, I took the liberty of handing over the sample to the Ambassador and got a bit of information."

Vlad seemed honestly curious as he crossed his arms. "Well? What is it?"

"It seems the subject wasn't destroyed after all." The ghost hunter revealed with a grin. "Apparently the humans have been keeping it at the Star Labs in Taos. Not only that, but it is completely stable."

The halfa seemed to think a moment before a toothy grin surfaced. He hadn't expected that, but it could work in his favor. "I thought for sure after sending it off against Danielle there would be no way the Little Badger would do anything to help it. I can already see this figuring favorably in my plans Skulker." He then scratched his chin a bit. "But maybe I should try and be a bit more ambitious here, after those Reach idiots had the gall to insult my work." He then turned back to Skulker. "Get the Fright Knight down here before you go, he's finally going to be of some use."

* * *

Star Labs, Taos – May 9

"So you're saying I'm some kind of half ghost hybrid thing?" Will questioned after allowing Black Canary to explain it to him. He was following both her, and Dr. Wilcox back to the meeting room where two other waited.

"Yes, but that's about all I can really tell you. Once we get back, I'm sure Phantom can answer any more of your questions."

Will stopped at the mention. "Whoa, Phantom?... uh…"

Canary could see his nervous expression and helped him along with a lite push. "Come on Will, he won't bite."

It wasn't biting he was worried about. While he wasn't some crazy fan of the comic, he still read them, and knew what Phantom did to other ghosts.

"Right through here William." Wilcox directed as he opened the door. Black Canary encouraged the young teen to continue through the door by walking behind him. Whatever conversation that was going on before he entered was forgotten as both the room's occupants turned his way.

"Will, come sit down." Nightwing suggested as he directed him to an open chair. "Uh, thanks…." As he began to sit down he could feel himself growing more nervous. It also didn't help matters when, instead of sitting in the chair, he fell right through to the floor. "Whoa!" He quickly scrambled to his feet and turned towards the seat a bit shaken.

"Are you okay?" The familiar echo like voice caught him by surprise as he tensed up. A symphony of rips followed suit as the quill like fur that covered his body shredded the jumpsuit he was wearing. His regretful groan was joined by an exasperated sigh from Dr. Wilcox as most of the suit fell to the floor in tatters.

"Just calm down Will, you don't need to be nervous." Black Canary tried to convey.

"Uh.. yeah, sorry about that." He didn't look or sound confident at all as he said that.

"Anyway Danny, why don't you ask him about changing back?" Nightwing suggested to get the ball rolling.

"Changing back?" The younger halfa muttered as he turned in Phantom's direction.

"Yeah, you're a ghost hybrid. That means you can actively change from a human to ghost and vice versa."

"I can?" Will wondered as he looked at his spine covered arms. The shift in his body language was subtle but fast as he thought about it. "How? How do I change back?" He finally asked with a hopeful expression, his nervous demeanor now gone.

Danny raised a brow. "Uh… have you tried just thinking about it?"

Will was speechless at the suggestion. "You're kidding…. Right?"

"Nope." Phantom plainly responded much to the annoyance of the younger halfa.

"I've wanted to change back to normal since I woke up green!" Will responded in anger. "Shouldn't it have happened by now!?"

Danny crossed his arms. "Look, I don't know why you haven't changed back, just try it now. You didn't know you could until I told you right?"

That seemed to calm the young teen as he agreed. "….right…." He mumbled in thought. He remained silent a bit longer before looking down at himself. Seconds later a green ring of light appeared around his waist for a split second before fading away. "Huh!?" He cried out as he stepped back. "Was that….. what happened?"

"That was the morph ring, but you stopped before you could change." Danny pointed out.

Dr. Wilcox had to adjust his glasses as he looked with astonishment. "I've seen him do that before."

Nightwing turned to him in surprise. "You have? But you said he'd never done this before."

Wilcox shook his head. "Well it wasn't quite like what Phantom showed me, or what Will did just now, but there have been a few times when he's given off that energy in his sleep."

Will seemed angry at the scientist's revelation. "And you didn't tell me?"

"We didn't want to scare you Will, and I didn't know what it could be until now." Dr. Wilcox defended earnestly.

"Well we know what it is now, so try again." Nightwing suggested as he sat up straight in his seat.

The young halfa gave a nod as he took in another calming breath. "Okay…" It didn't take long for the ring to appear again, and this time it separated several inches before falling back and disappearing. Will let out a tired breath. "Is it supposed to be hard?" He asked as he looked up at Phantom who seemed deep in thought.

"No…" He stated rather curiously. "It should be the easiest thing, but… I don't know, it's like you're stuck."

"Stuck?" He quoted.

"What do you mean by that Danny?" Nightwing questioned with confusion that matched the others.

"You know, like how your parents always say not to make the same face too long or it'll stay that way? He's stuck. He's spent too much time in his ghost form; at least two weeks, but probably a lot longer." Danny explained as he thought about it more. "I don't like to spend more than a day in mine either."

"Then how can I get unstuck!?" Will asked in a groan.

Danny raised a hand to his chin. "Well…. I may have something, but-"

"Anything!" Will shouted as he got a little too close to the elder halfa. "Anything to be back to normal!"

Danny raised a brow with an undertone of annoyance. "You shouldn't be so quick to jump on a solution especially if you don't know what it is."

Will furrowed his brow. "But if it's the only option, what's wrong with that? I don't want to be like this one minute longer than I have too! I wanna go home!"

Danny let out a sigh as he relented. "Fine, but you asked for it."

* * *

Mt. Justice – May 9

Because his time in Star Labs seemed fruitless, Dr. Wilcox had no problems allowing Nightwing to take Will back, and it was only temporary since they didn't know how being human would effect his tests in the lab. The teen in question was more than happy to return to the cave if it meant being normal, and the longer the teen waited, the more it annoyed Danny. He couldn't help thinking about how he was back in the beginning. How he was ever that stupid was beyond him, but Will does still have a choice.

Upon their arrival back at the cave, Dani and Beast Boy were jazzed to see them. Dani had gotten her things together since Danny deemed it safe for her to go back to living with Jazz. He'd arranged for some better protection anyway. "Danny!" She called as she ran over to him. "What was taking you so long? Jazz tried to call you know."

"Sorry, but we're not quite done yet to be honest." Danny apologized as the others came out of the Zeta tubes one by one.

Both Dani and Gar were confused when Will had come back with them. "Will?"

The young halfa turned to the familiar teen and waved. "Oh hey Beast Boy."

"What are you doing back here?" Gar asked as he walked up to him.

"I'll be right back Will. Just stay here." He then turned to Dani. "I'll take you back home as soon as I'm done with him alright?" She seemed cool as he walked down the hall to his room.

"So what exactly is his plan?" Nightwing wondered aloud. "Something that can force you to change back?"

Black Canary seemed to agree. "I could scarcely imagine, but it would make sense."

"I don't care what it is, as long as I'm normal again."

Nightwing furrowed his brow. "Be careful Will, I doubt this is a permanent solution. Phantom already said there was no way you could permanently get rid of your powers."

Will crossed his arms. "Then I'll ignore them. All I need to do is stay human, and problem solved." After a few minutes, Danny came back up the hall. "Finally! Come on already." Will insisted as he dashed up to him.

"I'm going to ask you again, are you sure you're willing to do anything?"

Will seemed exasperated by the question. "For the hundredth time yes! Now get on with it!"

Danny shook his head in disappointment before pulling out a small device. The end split into two and sparks started to fly from it. As soon as Danielle noticed what it was she stepped further back. "Is that…?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, it's one of the fruitloop's Plasmius Maximus prods." He then gestured it towards Will who seemed a bit uneasy at this point. "Just so you know, this will hurt, and I don't mean a little bit either." He quickly jabbed Will with the device and the charge spread like wild fire over the boy's spiky fur. He let out a scream of pain as the shock crackled through him, but it died out after about a minute. He fell back and hit the ground hard just as the last of the electricity danced over him. Seconds later the ring appeared as Danny intended it to, and this time it spread over his entire form. The once monstrous teen now appeared as an average scrawny teen though he was only wearing a pair of grey shorts. The only hair on his body that could be seen was the short wiry red hair on his head, and no horns to speak of.

"Is he okay?" Canary asked as she approached in worry.

Danny moved to squat next to him with a confident expression. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Maybe a bit disoriented, but fine. He won't have to worry about his powers for the next few hours."

* * *

**So Will is now back to "normal" but there's more to it than that right Danny? Anyway, I hope this chapter didn't annoy anyone. I know it was OC centric, but like I said, he needed more grounding in the story. I also gave Danny and Nightwing a moment as well. Since Danny only told everyone that Plasmius was an evil ghost who could be helping the light, I felt Nightwing, if anyone, should be the one to know more. Next chapter will follow "the runaways" and I put an extra twist on that little team up scene. (I replaced someone, but you'll have to wait to find out)**

**On a side note, the rumor about the net is that YJ may get a third season after all. Netflix is supposedly looking into themselves (which seems more evident since they finally put the second season online) and are seeing how popular the shows first two seasons are to see if it's worth it. Now, I'm not claiming to be an informed source, but it seems very plausible to me. For this to occur though 2 things must happen:**

**1 - It has to have had enough hits in its first two seasons. (I'm rewatching it myself for this point)**

**2 - Warner Bros has to allow it. (This one seems harder, and I don't know what their opinion is, but some of the cast has already jumped at the idea)**

**As always I really appreciate thoughts and comments! Thx for reading!=^-^=**


	15. Chapter 15 - Intuition

**So a new chapter for you guys. I'm sorry if OC's bother people, but the one I'm using has just been kinda fun to do. He's functioning like one of the secondary characters. (Like robin, wonder girl ect...) Hope that doesn't kill the story for anyone, but I find him fun. Anyway, so this chapter covers the episode 'Runaways' along with bits at the beginning that end the main explanation of Will. Also, fight scene... I'm sorry if it's bad, but I can't do fights very well.=^-^=**

**Ch. 15 -Intuition**

* * *

Mt. Justice - May 10

Nightwing entered the infirmary first thing to check on their newest guest. Will, who had been brought back yesterday at Phantom's request, was laying on one of the beds. Phantom was the one at the monitor checking on him across the room. "He doing okay?"

Danny nodded without turning around. "Yeah from what I can tell. I'm a little surprised considering he zapped himself again with that thing."

Dick shook his head at that. He was already surprised when Danny electrocuted him with that strange weapon, but when Will reached up to grab it again after hearing it was only temporary…. Well, it caused a bit of a scene. "You're right though, he was a little too desperate for an easy fix. Is that really a reason to tie him up though?" He asked as he gestured to the green ropes around the unconscious teen.

Danny turned around to explain his reasoning. "Actually he's not tied up since it'll come off if he tries to get free. They're just there to keep him from falling through the bed again. He's done it half a dozen times in the last few hours. The special resin it's coated in can't phase or be phased through."

"So you really can tie up a ghost?" The vigilante wondered with a smirk.

"In a way…. It's not hard to get out of even if it were properly tied. Anyway, speaking of getting tied up, what's been going on with that secret thing of yours? Haven't heard anything about it since the recovery mission at the Reach labs."

Nightwing crossed his arms as he thought about it. "I haven't heard anything about it either. He must be tied up with something for the Light. Something he can't get away from for an information exchange." He revealed in a serious tone. "I'm starting to think it may not have been the best idea."

Danny shrugged. "Can't really say anything is the 'best' idea. You never really know how something will turn out in the end until it's done. An act of sheer stupidity could turn into a great opportunity…. Or not." He ended with a thoughtful pause thinking back to several of his own mistakes. He then pulled out his phone and read from the screen. "If you worry about everything you won't control anything."

"What's that, some fortune cookie wisdom?" Nightwing asked with a laugh.

Danny shook his head. "No, my sister started sending me these daily wisdom notes cause I don't call enough. She says it's easier than trying to say it all when I finally do." He then let out a sigh. "So, you contact his dad yet? He seemed pretty determined to go home yesterday."

Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, and I don't think we can let him go home just yet. He still has no control of his powers."

"And no intention of trying at this point if his stupid stunt means anything." Danny responded as he gestured over to him.

They both then heard the doors open and Jaime followed by Bart entered looking curious. "Good morning!" The young speedster announced as he dashed over to them. "I heard the hunter was…. Will was back." He declared as he quickly moved over to the unconscious teen. "Whoa cool. Doesn't look scary at all."

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Danny asked as he leaned back on the console.

"Impulse said it would be a crash idea to come by since I never got to meet Will before." Jaime explained with less energy than his friend. "A little too early though…" He grumbled out.

"Way more than crash. I never knew these guys as anything but monsters before. Why not be friends?" Bart reasoned aloud. Though that was his given reason, he really just wanted to know more about them. It didn't seem to far a stretch to think they were controlled like the Blue Beetle of the future.

"I don't think friendships should start with poking. Leave him alone." Danny requested as he watched Bart make a strange cycle of inspection with speedy transitions.

Another groan of protest followed as the halfa squirmed with consciousness. "Uh… cut it out….." He grumbled as he turned over sleepily.

"Whoa!" Bart called as he stopped the teen from rolling off the bed. "Hey dude, wake up!" He asked in a strained voice while pushing Will back from the edge.

"Hmm…?" Will grumbled as he opened his eyes a bit. "What?" He followed up with a yawn.

"You're gonna fall, that's what."

Will seemed to wake up readily at that and roll back over in slight panic. "Huh?" He mumbled as he sat up. The glowing rope slacked around him with every move. "Where am I?" He asked as he looked around. He noticed Jaime and Bart first before setting eyes on Phantom and Nightwing. "…. Phantom…. Wait!" He lifted his hands to inspect them with the rope draped loosely around them. "My hands!?" He turned to look over himself with excitement on his face. "No spiky green fur! I'm normal!" He shouted as he reached for the ceiling in triumph.

"And half naked, but I guess that part can wait." Bart noted as he took a spot beside Jaime again.

He then scrambled to get the weird rope off. "What is this thing anyway?" he then turned towards Danny. "You didn't have to tie me up you know." He stated in tame annoyance as he hopped off the bed. The rope was easy to get off and he tossed it back on the bed.

"If only to stop you from being an idiot and grabbing for the Maximus again, then yeah I did." Danny corrected in a serious tone. "It was never meant to be used more than once on the same person so quickly. You could have really hurt yourself or worse. The easy way will almost always come with the worst consequences Will." The elder halfa reprimanded.

"What consequences?" Will asked with a confident expression. "As far as I can tell, I'm back to normal, and perfectly fine." His confidence dwindled as he realized he was getting lower.

Danny shook his head as he and the others watched. "You don't get it. The Maximus only shorts your powers out temporarily. When you grabbed it only minutes after I used it on you, you really only succeeded in electrocuting yourself. Your powers are NOT gone, and now that you're in human form, they'll be even harder to control." Will was panicked as he was now through the floor to his waist. Jaime and Bart quickly moved to pull him up when he seemed unable to do it himself.

"Now that you're in human form, maybe the Lab techs will be able to do more to help." Nightwing offered somewhat confidently. He still wanted Phantom to step up, but he still didn't seem to want too. Will also seemed less interested in control and more interested in just getting rid of them.

* * *

Star Labs, Taos – May 10

Will wasn't exactly happy to be back at the lab, but at least he wasn't some creature anymore. To say he was completely normal, however, isn't completely accurate. Somehow or another during his transformation his hair, which was supposed to be dark brown, turned red. It didn't exactly bother him, but it wasn't something he liked all that much either. Dr. Wilcox's opinion of him certainly didn't change as the young teen was brought to him. "Hmm? So it would seem you finally changed back." He only seemed mildly pleased as he waved him to follow. "Perhaps now we can properly analyze your abilities."

Will let out a sigh as he thought back to the 'practice sessions' with the other kids. He gripped the belt he wore over his jumpsuit tightly. Though the suit was standard Lab attire for the kids, the belt was provided by Phantom. It was supposed to make it so he wouldn't phase completely through the floor and glowed slightly like ropes he woke up in. "Alright everyone it's time to begin." The scientist declared as he opened the door to the testing room. Will could hear the chorus of groans that followed out in the hall. "Hurry up William, so we can start." Just before the teen entered the room.

The other kids seemed surprised at the mention since he'd been gone a few days, but they were even more surprised when they saw him. "Will? Is that really you!?" Virgil asked as he approached in surprise.

"No way….. what happened?" Ed asked as he stood up.

The young halfa wore a slightly nervous expression as he answered. "I figured out how to change back to normal."

"That's awesome man." Virgil congratulated as he pat his shoulder. The other teens looked happy for him too, but Asami looked a bit confused as well since she didn't know what was being said.

"Alright, if you kids don't mind, we'll be starting now." Dr. Wilcox cut in, effectively killing any real excitement in the air.

* * *

Mt. Justice – May 13

Phantom flew into the briefing room as fast as he could after Nightwing called for him. Super boy was waiting there as well as the leader pulled up a surveillance feed on the screen. "What did you need Nightwing? What happened?" Danny asked as he landed nearby.

"There's been an alert at Star Labs, and the kids we rescued from the Reach have broken out; everyone but Nathaniel anyway. I want you to go and see if you can't get them back. I'm calling Blue Beetle too since one of them is a friend of his, and he's close by." Nightwing informed as he turned the halfa's way. "We want to get them to come back, not force them alright?"

Danny nodded in understanding. "Sure, I'll do what I can. Blu gonna meet me there or do you want me to wait?"

"He'll just meet you. You should just head out now, and try and catch up with them before something happens." Phantom flew off towards the Zeta tubes without any more hesitation.

Conner then let out a sigh and turned to his friend. "So you're not going to tell him?"

Nightwing shook his head. "No, it'll be better if I tell him afterwards. He needs to concentrate on finding those kids, not looking for her."

Super boy wore a frown. "Sometimes it's too late by then." Nightwing raised a brow at his friend's sudden anger. "M'gann told me about Aqua Lad." The leader let out a regretful sigh. "Conner we-"

"No! You need to understand something. Some secrets can hurt way more than they help!"

"We needed to make it as convincing as possible. Kaldur himself didn't want any of the others holding back because it could blow his cover." Nightwing tried to explain.

Connor grabbed his suit in anger. "That's the problem! Do you have any idea what M'gann almost did because of that stupid lie!? Back on that Reach ship she almost fried Kaldur's mind because she thought he'd killed Artemis! And she probably would have if Phantom hadn't been there. Can you even imagine how she must've felt when she realized the truth?" He let him go as his anger grew more tame. "What bugs me even more is that Phantom was in on your secret too despite just joining the team, but I won't blame him. You, however, need do something before these secrets actually do permanent damage." The kryptonian reprimanded as he turned away. Nightwing couldn't find anything else to say in his defense. It was no secret things had gotten out of control at times, but what could he do at this point? Too much was invested to pull out now.

* * *

Taos – May 13

Virgil had just come back into the bus depot after calling home on a pay phone. "Dude, I can't believe you called your family!" Tye asked in outrage. "No way I'm going back to mine."

Virgil let out a breath as he turned to him. "Look, I know the Reach was abducting runaways, but with me, they got it wrong. I was grabbed while waiting at a train station to meet my sister. My folks and I, we're good, and they must be worried sick. So yeah, I called them. I left a voice mail asking them to wire money so the four of us can get bus tickets to Dakota City. It's my home town." He explained.

"That's your plan?" Ed complained from the bench.

"Look Virgil, I get what you're saying." Will started as he headed over to the soda machine. "I wasn't a runaway either. I was actually on my way home when they grabbed me, but what good is going to Dakota City going to bring us?" He asked as he leaned against the machine. He was pressing his hand against it in an attempt to reach into it, but couldn't get it to work for him.

"Besides, how are we going to find a cure in Dakota City?" Ed added back in.

Virgil shrugged. "No idea. Except, I don't really want a cure. I like my powers." He revealed as he shot out an electrical charge at the machine Will was leaning against. "Here man." The machine quickly relinquished a couple of them and Will grabbed them out.

"Thanks." He expressed as he tossed one to his helpful friend. Virgil popped the top of his can, but before he could drink it Will started some sort of fit. The young halfa spewed out his drink in disgust and moved over to the trashcan where he dumped the drink and seemed to be about to heave. "Oh man! What was this crap!?" He said as he resisted the urge to puke.

"Dude, don't drink that, it's Reach!" Tye explained as he pointed to the can in Virgil's hand.

The young man's face soured at the idea as he zapped the can into the trash Will was gagging over. "Oh man…"

"Don't these Reach aliens have taste buds!?" Will groaned as he wiped his face. "That was the worst thing I've ever tasted."

"Glad I didn't drink any." Virgil stated in relief when he saw Will's expression. "If it's that bad, I wonder why it still sells?"

Tye shrugged and headed over to the bench beside Ed. "Whatever, just wake me when it's time to go."

Asami watched them silently before noticing something outside. When she looked for herself, she quickly noticed the armed men, but her attempts to alarm her friends didn't convey the message. "No idea." Virgil commented in response to the foreign speech.

Will walked over and took a whiff of the air. "Wait a minute… it smells like Star." She then gestured towards the door and grabbed the halfa to show him. "Star is here! It's Wilcox!"

Virgil rushed over to wake Tye, but when he tried, Tye instead extended his astral form. "Whoa!?"

It grew enormous and tore the ceiling off the bus depot with ease. He then grabbed up the other kids and carried them to a spot out in the woods before letting them go. Tye's astral form slowly shrank and Virgil and Ed caught him fore he fell. "How did I….. Oh man it happened again. I thought I was dreaming." He grumbled in his groggy state.

"No dream, trust me." The teens turned to see Blue Beetle had followed them from the depot. "I'm not here to hurt you, but you four need to go back to Star." He explained calmly as he landed.

Virgil, like the others, didn't like the idea as he responded. "Look-"

"Whoa man… you okay?" Ed asked as he saw Will with a look of sheer terror.

"Will?" Virgil questioned.

"Beetle…. He's Reach….." The halfa was able to mumble out with a strange far off look.

Virgil wore a confused expression. "What are you talking about man, that's Blue Beetle. He's one of the heroes that saved us from the Reach. I know you don't really remember, but-"

Will shook his head. "No! He smells like him! He smells like….." He seemed to be freaking out as he took a breath.

"Dude, you just don't get it." Tye took over since Virgil was looking after Will.

"No Tye, I really do." Blue Beetle responded as his armor began to recede.

It was surprise all around as Tye recognized his friend before him. "Jaime?" "Yeah, it's me." He responded solemnly. "But h-how?"

Jaime shook his head. "It's a long story, but Will's right." Blue revealed as he turned to pull up his shirt. "It's this Scarab, which was created by the Reach to both give me powers and control me." He then pulled his shirt back down. "So believe me ese, I know. Will's probably scared of me because of Black Beetle who is with the Reach, and used him like a pet."

Virgil looked to Will who seemed a bit calmer and then back to Jaime. "So you're one of us. Why do you get to fly around free while we get shoved in a lab for testing?"

"We're not lab rats, not for the Reach or Star." Ed added in.

"You can't make us go back there." Tye finished.

Jaime let out a sigh before brushing his fingers through his hair. "Look, what's the alternative? I let you run loose until the Reach snatches you up again?"

Virgil shook his head. "No, we're headed to my parents' place so they can-"

"Get hurt or killed trying to protect you?" Jaime cut in with more reason. "That's your plan?" All of a sudden Virgil didn't seem so confident as the others looked his way.

"_Then will you help us?_" Asami asked in japanese.

"Hai, I'll help you." Jaime responded much to her surprise.

"You speak Japanese?" Tye asked in bewilderment.

The young hero shook his head. "No, the scarab translates…. It's complicated." He then let out a breath. "Alright how about this? I have this buddy, Green Beetle. He helped me, and I'm sure he can help you. He's not far from here, and I'll take you." Jaime revealed with confidence.

"Sorry Jaime, but that's not the mission." An echo like voice said out of nowhere. Phantom phased up in front of them through the ground.

"Danny?" Jaime questioned as he quickly recalled that Nightwing had sent him too.

"Yeah, and they need to go back to Star Labs. It's the safest place for them until the Reach leave."

"Hey back off!" Ed shouted as he stepped forwards. "We don't want to be lab rats anymore."

Danny chuckled at that. "Lab rats, at Star, really? Give me a break."

"What did you say?!" Ed shot back with a glare.

"As if you could really be considered lab rats under the supervision of scientists who treat you like people and care about your well-being." Danny then crossed his arms. These kids had hit a nerve, but Danny was able to keep his tone composed. "As someone who's been strapped to lab tables with the threat of dissection, I honestly find that funny. You guys should know they're only trying to help. If your powers get out of control, you could easily hurt yourselves or someone else." The comment seemed to bother some of the teens as they remain quiet.

Jaime placed a hand on the halfa's shoulder. "I got this Phantom, really."

"Hold on…. This guy, he's that comic book character you like." Tye finally realized. "He was one of those heroes who saved us from the Reach with you."

Virgil raised a hand to his chin. "I thought he looked familiar when I first saw him. The Phantom of Amity Park right?"

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Okay yes, comic book, but that's not important right now. We need to get you guys back to Star Labs, right Jaime?" He declared as he turned to his comrade. Jaime seemed a bit cross by Phantom's intention, but the halfa had reservations about the other beetle. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust you're pal as much as you do, and-" He stopped when he heard his com link activate. "Yeah Nightwing? Yeah, I'm with Blue now and we found them…. There's a what attacking Star Labs?... Alright, I'll grab Blu and we'll head over." He lowered his hand from his ear and turned to the teens. "You guys need to stay put." He then turned to Jaime. "Nightwing said some crazy guy in armor is attacking Star Labs. We're the closest ones so it's on us since the Zeta tubes are down."

Jaime seemed a bit hesitant before nodding. "Alright, let's go." He responded as he armored up. "Please stay put." He requested the teens as both he and Danny flew back to the Labs.

"My dad could be hurt.." Ed stated as he watched them in the distance. "We should help..."

"Then why don't you go help them out?" A mysterious female voice asked. A cloaked figure appeared from the shadow of a nearby tree. "If you can that is."

* * *

Star Labs, Taos – May 13

Upon arriving on the scene, it was pretty quiet for the heroes. They began to land at the entrance before Phantom froze in place. "Oh no…." He muttered in dread just before a gruesome whinny pierced the dark sky around them.

"Phantom! You dare to keep me waiting!?" The Fright Knight called out as he floated down from the sky upon his steed. "Insolence!" He shouted as he blasted a beam of energy to the sky. A tempest of clouds quickly formed in response as both Blue Beetle and Phantom readied for a fight.

"When he said crazy guy in armor, I was hoping it really was just some crazy guy."

"Is that the Fright Knight ese?" Blue asked in evident surprise.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, we have our work cut out for us."

As the other worldly lightning struck all around the ghost lowered his blade. "Now you shall tell me where the children are at once!" He commanded with his fiery aura blazing high.

"Like we're gonna tell you?!" Blue responded as he blasted at him with his sonic cannon.

Danny backed him up with his ghost ray, though Fright Knight seemed to easily parry them with his blade. Nightmare followed up with a column of green fire directed at the heroes. Danny deflected it with a round ecto-shield which allowed Blu to make a counter. He formed blades from both arms and swung them down on the ghost from above. The ghostly knight blocked with his sword, and easily pushed him back with his superior might. Nightmare batted her wings in rage as both her and her rider's auras flamed intensely. "Know Phantom, this shall not end as our battle previous!" Fright Knight shouted as he a dashed forward with his steed and blade at the ready.

Danny dodged it by inches and blasted the knight from behind. "That's for sure!" Unfazed once again by the attack he turned swiftly swung down his sword again. Phantom caught it in his hands and pushed out of its reach. Blu then blasted from above and wrapped a blue metal staple around the knight's torso.

This only further enraged the powerful specter as he melted it away with his flaming aura. "You battle in vain children! Soon you will both fall into the despair my blade brings just like those feeble humans of that lab!"

"You did what!?" Danny demanded in outrage.

"Do not dwell on their misfortune Phantom, you will join them shortly!" He responded as Nightmare dashed for him again. Phantom's anger was obvious as he flew at him as fast as he could. He maneuvered around the powerful ghost and rammed him from behind. The knight was tossed from his horse, and even dropped his sword in response, but wasn't held for long. With both hands free he ripped the halfa from his back, and threw him barreling to the concrete with his otherworldly force. "Insolence!" He shouted in outrage as he spied the other hero preparing to come at him as well.

Nightmare released a column of fire over the armored teen effectively holding his attention from its rider. Phantom pushed shakily from the shattered ground with a ragged breath. Fright Knight was one of the strongest ghosts he'd ever fought, and he never actually beat him in a fight before. The first time he'd just sealed him into a pumpkin and the second time Fright Knight had simply left at Pariah's bidding. He may have been doing better than either of those times but he couldn't keep this up, not if he wanted to save those people before it was too late. Just as he sat up he noticed the teens from Star Labs run up to the scene. They looked scared yet focused as they spread out. "What are you doing here? Leave!" He shouted, but the teens didn't listen.

"We want to help!" Virgil informed as he lifted a man hole to fly on.

"You can't! He's too powerful!" Danny tried to reason, but failed to deter them.

"Foolish children! Coming to me of your own accord!" The Fright Knight bellowed as the clouds that had formed above turned an ominous green. Bolts of lightning soon began to strike around the sky more vigorously than before, and then the city below. Everything they touched radiated green, and soon came to life with a vicious screech.

Ed watched as a mailbox roared and grew three times its size. "What is this guy doing!?"

"The Fright Knight can bring things to life with his powers man." Virgil informed as he recalled his comic book knowledge. "They'll all turn back if we beat him though."

"I guess we should keep these things a bay then while you and Jaime take care of the big guy." Tye reasoned as he looked up at his friend fighting. "After all, it's a ghost we're talking about right?"

Danny, who by now stood up, approached him with a serious nod. "Yeah, you guys won't even be able to touch him." He then let out a resolute breath. "Alright, you guys can handle the small fry and keep them from destroying the area. I'll try and end this quick." Phantom stated with a determined glare situated on the powerful ghost above.

Fright Knight watched him with a confident attitude, and waited for the halfa to come at him again. He floated up slowly while keeping his eyes firmly on his opponent. "Ready for more Phantom?" The fright Knight mused with his arms crossed. Danny held both fists at the ready as a blue aura emanates from him. He steeled his arms with ice before flying at the ghost full force.

The teens below watch it begin before looking around at the few living objects that now skulked the area. Tye turned to the snakelike lamp post with his fists raised. "Alright guys, let's go." Virgil nodded as he flew the man hole over to the monstrous mail box.

Will took a breath as he stood by Tye. "Okay… I got this." He stated as he closed his eyes, and tensed his form. A green morph ring appeared to transform him back into the spiny green ghost from before. He charged the strange object along with Tye. Asami and Ed were working to keep the mailbox distracted while Virgil tried to nail it with the manhole he manipulated with his powers.

Blu was getting tired of his hooved opponent who was keeping him back from the Fright Knight. "Alright stupid horse, I'm getting rid of you!" He yelled as fired staples to pin its wings and hooves. He then barreled up and down on the ghost with his built up momentum. The two of them came crashing down right on top of the serpentine lamp post, and only missed Tye and Will by shear chance.

The two teens take back steps from the impact with Tye a bit further back then Will. The two of them had really only been able to keep it in one place with their combined tactics, and were about to try and push it back before it met with its current fate. "Holy crap that almost hit us!" Will stated with an uneasy tone.

"Jaime just saved our butts man!" Tye defended from Will's complaint.

"You guys okay?" Virgil asked as he flew over slowly. The mailbox he and the others were attacking was still moving but its dented form slowed it to a harmless crawl.

"Yeah that almost hit you guys!" Ed added in. "You sure your friend there was even looking if you were out of the way?" He asked with an annoyed tone.

"Of course he was." Tye stated as he and the others watched as the armored teen rose up from the defeated ghosts. He formed blades on his arms and dashed right past them without a single word of worry.

"You sure about that man?" Ed reiterated was he watched Blue Beetle slam his blades into the back of the Fright Knight.

He and Danny's battle had turned into a sort of fist fight as both hovered only a few feet from the ground. Danny punched the ghost back away from the building as Blu joined him in the fight. "Hey Blu, I'm gonna end this. Cover your ears and stay behind me." Blu floated back a bit as Danny took a stable position. He then took in a deep breath just as the Fright Knight flew back towards hit. All at once the specter was halted by the deafening cry of Phantom's powerful wail. He slid back several feet before taking a knee as he tried withstand the onslaught of the attack.

All the teens covered their ears in pain from the sound despite their distance from it. "Oh man! What is that!?"

"Phantom's strongest attack." Virgil grunted out as he peeked one eye open. "It'll stop that guy for sure."

"But what about them?" Will questioned as he saw a few civilians a ways away from the attack but still in the line of fire.

"They must've come out because of all the noise." Tye reasoned as he continued to cover his ears. "We gotta get them out of there."

"You can't just go out into that man!" Virgil countered as he grabbed Tye's shoulder. "We need to get Phantom to stop!"

Tye turned to him. "You do that, and I'll get those people." He compromised as he dashed away.

Virgil let out a sigh as ran over to Phantom from the side. The sound was deafening as he struggled to get close enough. "PHANTOM! STOP! THERE ARE PEOPLE!" It didn't seem to get to him over the sound of the wail though as it simply continued. It had only been going on for just over a minute, but the destruction around the area was incredible.

Tye took a breath as he ran towards the people crouched beside a car. "Okay focus. I can do this. My grandpa has been trying to teach me focus since I was eight." He told himself as he took a breath. "Breath…. And be." He continued as he grew into his astral form. He crouched over the people easily with his size to block the sound waves as best he could.

Phantom's eyes widened when he noticed the large figure in the background. He could see the knight was almost out, but he couldn't risk hurting someone else to do it. He cut out his wail with a huff from the strain and leaned on his knees. "Wh-what is he doing?" He wondered before noticing Virgil right next to him.

The teen was out of breath, as he lowered his hands from his ears. "He was trying… to save those people. They must've come out to see what was going on." He informed as caught his breath. "I was trying to get you to stop, but I don't think you could hear me."

"No I couldn't." He informed with a grateful expression before turning back to the knight. He was still on his knees but not down for the count just yet.

"What are you doing Phantom? He's not done yet!" Blu shouted as he flew down to the halfa. His point was made when Fright Knight began to stand slowly, and he formed his sonic cannon in response. He blasted at him which brought the knight back down to one knee. He still hadn't recovered from the wail enough to counter the attack, and Blu only came down harder as he saw it start to affect him. "Sounds like you need a bit more!"

"Stop Blu! There are people over there!" Danny demanded as he saw the waves pelt Tye in his crouched defensive position.

"He's almost down!" Blu countered as he formed another one to add to the attack. Danny grabbed one of his arms to stop him when a whinny tore through and knocked them both to the side. Nightmare had free itself from its bonds to defend its master. As soon as the attack stopped Tye's astral form broke down from the beating and the teen lay crouched on the ground. Ed and Asami were quick to tend to him while the civilians back away from the area now that they had their chance. Despite the interruption, Blu's attack proved fruitful as the ghost fell down in defeat with a groan behind the spectral steed. "See there? I did it!"

"What's wrong with you Blu!?" Danny demanded in outrage. "You could've hurt someone!" He rounded as he stood fully up on his feet.

"And the ghost wasn't? I had to take him down!" Blu countered with an agitated expression.

"Not if it meant hurting someone else!" Danny shot back.

Blu ignored the comment with a shake of his head. "I did what I had to." He then flew off towards the runaway teens who gathered together. Ed and Asami were helping Tye a bit while Will followed Virgil to join up with them. Blu landed just as the group came together. Danny watched in anger as Jaime began to talk to them all while the sound of approaching vehicles signaled the emergency response was on its way.

"Don't second guess yourself Danny. You're right." He heard in a familiar voice as a robed figure approached him. They had the Soul Shredder in hand and pointed it out before them. "Return at once to my sight, all who felt your blade this night." She chanted, and the sword glowed in response. Seconds later several bright forms appeared in the surrounding area which dulled to reveal the Star Labs staff. The scientists, security and other staff all seemed panicked yet conscious as they took in their new surroundings.

"Sam?" Danny asked while knowing the answer rather confidently.

"Who were you expecting?" She mused back as she tipped her hood back a bit to reveal her face.

Danny took a relieved breath as he smirked at her. "Figures you'd come. You're the one who broke them out aren't you?" He guessed with a confident expression.

"Yeah, since someone else wasn't going to help." She jabbed with an annoyed expression. "But I understand. I'll take them from here…. Unless you still think this place is safe?" She questioned with a raised brow.

Danny couldn't deny it now. The lab had been purposefully attacked, and the Fright Knight was obviously after the kids. "Fine you win…. What are you going to do with them?" He asked warily.

"I'll do more than those stupid scientists. Just trust me." Trust wasn't something that even needed to be requested at this point. Danny knew Sam and Tucker too well to not trust them absolutely and without much question.

Sam had proved her point quite well about the lab, and he knew she'd keep them out of trouble at the very least. "Fine, you have it."

"Good." She responded before he could ask anything more. "And you have things to do." She informed as she pulled out a magazine.

"The national Inquirer?" He wondered as he read the title.

"Page eleven Danny, this is important. Vlad's up to something if you don't already know." She then handed him the periodical and turned to the teens after pulling hood again. "I'm sure Tucker gave you my number if you really need something. We need to go." She then went over to the teens while Danny stood speechless looking at the magazine.

He lifted his gaze just in time to see the teens minus Blu and Will disappear in a dark bubble of energy. "Whoa….." He flew over to them. "What happened?"

"Whoever that was took Tye and the others!" Blu said in outrage.

"What about you?" Danny asked Will as he took a step away from the enraged Blu Beetle.

"The others seemed to know her, but I didn't…. I turned her down." He informed in worry.

A newscaster van quickly pulled up along with several other emergency vehicles, and Will seemed further unsettled. "Let's get out of here Blu." Danny suggested as he watched Will continue to back away from the approaching press. Blu was quickly surrounded while Danny made himself invisible. Eluding the news was an easy task for him, and he really didn't like the attention anymore; not since the incident anyway. He flew over to Will, and made him invisible as well before flying them both back to Blu. The young hero was eating the attention up as he answered their questions about the defeat of the armored ghost. As the cameras turned to see him the Steed cried out and both specters disappeared from sight. The sword, which Sam had left on the ground after freeing the lab people, flew up and through the sky quickly leaving sight as well. "So he's gone at least, but…" He continued to watch Blue Beetle talk out his heroism and sharpened his gaze. Sam had told him he was right, but was Blu…?

"What now?" Will asked as he hung from his arms in Phantom's grasp.

Danny let out a sigh. "Now we return to the cave."

* * *

**So Sam's watching Vlad apparently and the teens too. You may be surprised exactly what she's doing, but it'll be a little while before I completely reveal what. I had to completely redesign the fight scene for the most part because I changed the attacker. I never really understood the random inclusion of Red Volcano, but oh well. I also changed the scene with Nightwing and Conner for obvious reasons. I hoping the next chapter will prove pretty entertaining so look forward to that.**

**Please comment and review if you can. Questions are more than welcome, and please point out any inconsistencies in this one. (I don't think I got everything...) Thx for reading.=^-^=**


	16. Chapter 16 - Monsters

**This story is becoming a lot more than I thought it would be. It's crazy how stories take on a life of their own before you know it. Hopefully you like where this is going, and enjoy the strange escapade Sam sent Danny on. It started out as a joke, but now it's more serious. It's very important for figuring out what Vlad is up to so I hope the fact that Will is involved isn't a turn off for those of you who don't like OC characters. I still consider him a secondary character like the other younger heroes. I'll talk more about it at the bottom so enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 16 - Monsters**

* * *

Mt. Justice - May 14

It was early as Danny stood in the briefing room talking to Nightwing about the events at Star Labs. Jaime had already left some time ago and the halfa was more than happy to make the leader wait until he did. "So this ghost is called Fright Knight?" Nightwing asked as he tried to understand it.

"Yeah, he's the spirit of Halloween, and works with Plasmius. I'm betting he's the one who ordered the attack. He was trying to get Will and the others, but they had already left the lab when he showed up."

The description seemed a little ridiculous to Conner, who was also in the room. "Halloween?"

"It sounds funny but I'm not kidding, and it could be weirder." He informed as he thought about the Box Ghost. "Anyway, he's very powerful despite what you might think. He also has a sword, the Soul Shredder, that can transport you to another dimension where you're forced to live out your greatest fear. He feeds off that fear to make himself stronger. He'd used it on all the staff of STAR before me and Jaime showed up."

Nightwing looked over the profile Danny provided on the screen. "And he's still out there right? He'll probably show up again."

"Probably. Vlad is definitely up to something." Danny confirmed with a serious tone.

"And what about the teens from the Lab? Blue said they were taken by someone, but he didn't know them. The teens did though."

Danny became slightly tense at that question, and mulled over what to say. "It was Sam…. She showed up, and took them off before I could stop her. I was surprised she came back to the Lab." He put emphasis on his surprise while giving Nightwing a pointed look. He figured the older teen knew she was there, and chose not to tell him. He trusted Nightwing, but that information was something that shouldn't have been kept from him. "If I'd known, I may have been able to talk her out of leaving again." He added with some emphasis, of course he really wouldn't have. At this point he was making it a bit obvious he knew of Nightwing's deception, and he wasn't happy about it. Conner gave the leader a side glance as he agreed with the sentiment.

Nightwing seemed at a slight loss of what to do about the information. "Alright, I guess it couldn't be helped then." He saw something else in Danny's expression too; something he saw often from the halfa. He was holding back, but what it was, he couldn't begin to guess at this point. Danny was still to secretive despite his trusted admission made solely to the vigilante. He let out a breath as he crossed his arms. "Well, the ghost was stopped, and no one was seriously injured during the attack, so there's that."

"But what about the kids from the Lab?" Conner questioned with a serious tone.

"I don't think you should worry about them. Sam will keep them out of trouble." Danny responded in place of Nightwing.

"Yeah, but she broke out of the lab too. She couldn't control her powers either, and that can prove dangerous." He returned as he turned to the halfa.

"She seemed in control to me. Besides, I don't know where she is, and neither do any of you. She's pretty hard to find when she doesn't want to be found." Danny countered. "We should deal with the problems we can actually do something about." He pulled out the magazine Sam gave him yesterday. "I found something I need to look into that may have something to do with what Vlad's planning. If you have nothing else you need me for, I'll be working on that." Danny informed as he flipped it open to show them.

Nightwing looked at it in scrutiny. "Return of the Jersey Devil? Are you serious?" He asked as he looked at the blurry photo with glowing eyes. The National Inquirer was hardly something that should be taken seriously, but come to think of it…. So was Phantom's profession. He let out a breath as he thought it over. "If we can't find the teens then I don't know what else to do about that. Let me know if you need some help." He offered openly as he watched Phantom turn to leave.

"What about the other kid, Will?" Conner asked Nightwing as Phantom walked away. "We can't send him back to STAR in the state it's in can we?"

The vigilante let out a breath as he weaved his fingers through his hair. "No, I suppose not…" He trailed off as he turned his head towards Phantom.

The halfa had stopped at the comment, and let out a sigh. "I'll take him with me." He finally relented. With STAR Labs out of the question there was nowhere safe to keep him that was out of the way. He didn't have anyone else he could defer him to, and he was tired of Nightwing's subtle hints. "It's bound to be better than another lab." He finished as headed down the hall to his room.

Their leader wore a smirk at the victory. "Sure, that works." He finally came around just like Danielle said he would.

"Is that a good idea?" Conner asked. He didn't have a problem with Phantom by this point, but he knew he was keeping secrets just like Nightwing had.

"Definitely. Not only for Will, but Phantom too."

Conner looked back at the hall with a curious expression. "If you think so."

* * *

Gar sat with Will in the living room as the new halfa thought over his position. That girl who took the others seemed like she knew what she was doing, but unlike the others, he'd never met her. He was starting to regret staying behind before Beast Boy finally spoke up. "So Will….. you've got ghost powers like Danny's right?" He asked in a curious tone. He'd never had much chance to talk to him during their previous encounters, but now he seemed to be staying at the cave. He thought getting to know him would be a cool idea.

"As far as I know, yeah." The halfa grumbled. His powers still annoyed him to no end, and they kept him from going home too.

"So you can go invisible?... Or fly even, like Danny?"

Will turned to him with a raised brow. "I… guess?" He'd never thought about what he could actually do with his powers. He practiced phasing at the lab, but that was it. He'd also grown accustomed to his sharper sense of smell, but that wasn't much of a power.

"So you haven't tried?" Gar asked as he leaned forward.

"No….. hmm…" The halfa thought about it. Danny had made him invisible back at the lab, and flew him back to the cave. He'd never even used either ability accidentally. "You think I should?" He wondered with a hesitant but curious tone.

"Totally!" Gar insisted from his seat. "I mean wouldn't it be cool to be invisible whenever you wanted, or fly without needing wings?" He elaborated further. He loved flying, but having to flap his wings got tiresome at times.

Will scratched his head, and a sort of smile seemed to come to his face. "I-I guess that is kinda cool. Being able to walk through walls too." He added in. Virgil had said before how he liked his powers, and this must've been what he was thinking when he said that. He'd been so caught up in how weird it was, he never thought of what he could do with them. "What else could I do?" He asked the younger hero with a lighter expression.

Gar rubbed his chin. "Well…. Danny can make ice with his. He can also shoot energy blasts, and make shields." Gar explained as he caught on to the older teen's growing excitement. He was happy that his plan was working. Since he also had issues with his powers at first, he thought maybe he could help the new halfa out by making him think more positively.

Will thought on the powers Beast Boy listed with contemplation. "I think I remember him using those when he fought the Fright Knight. What else can he do?"

Gar took a minute to think, but couldn't come up with anything. "Well….. why don't we go ask him?" The green teen proposed as he stood up from the couch. "I bet he'd even show you how if you asked." Gar declared as he grabbed Will's hand to lead him to the older halfa's room.

Will seemed to stutter as he was pulled along. "W-wait, maybe we shouldn't bother him?" He suggested thinking back to how Phantom was before. The few times he'd met the halfa he'd been cold, and had gotten angry at him several times already, not to mention how strong he was. "He'll get mad."

Gar chuckled. "No way, Danny's totally cool. If you get to know him, he's super nice." Gar stated with a smile. Of all the people in the cave, Danny was probably the most social with Gar. It helped that their rooms were right next to each other, but the green teen also made the effort to talk to him often since Danny tended to stay cooped up in his room.

They barely made it to the hall before the hero in question turned out of it. He quickly noticed Will, who he'd been looking for, and turned to him. "Good you're up. I needed to talk to you." Will froze behind Gar with uncertainty.

The changeling took a back glance at his new friend with a raised brow. "Will?" It now appeared as though the clothes Will was wearing were moving on their own without the teen within. Gar turned his body to look at him curiously. "Uh… Will?" He called out as he poked the air where the head would be.

"Ow…" He heard in response as Will knocked his hand away.

Gar then started to laugh at the scene. "You're invisible!" He declared as walked around the young halfa.

Will quickly took a look at his hands, an action that was expressed by the movement of his seemingly empty long sleeves. "I am?" He squirmed a bit to look over himself more. Only a few seconds into his inspection did he slowly start to fade back into sight. "H-how did I do that?" He wondered aloud in slight disbelief.

"Sometimes when you wish to be invisible, it can actually come true." Danny answered with a slightly amused tone. "Though it's not always exactly how you want."

Will turned to him with an uneasy expression. "I-I guess not…" He responded without keeping eye contact.

"So you were looking for Will right?" Gar cut in after seeing their exchange taper out.

Danny nodded. "Oh right, I wanted to tell you that you weren't getting sent back to STAR Labs."

Will's expression was relieved. "Really? So I can go home now?"

"No." Danny stated bluntly, and without even an ounce of hesitation. Will's hopes crumbled quickly with a slump of his shoulders.

"So is he just staying at the cave then?" Gar asked since he had slept their after arriving last night.

Danny shrugged. "I suppose, but Nightwing will have to work that out."

Will seemed angry as he crossed his arms. "So I'm stuck here instead of in STAR? What's the difference?" He spat, abandoning his timid disposition in the heat of the moment.

Danny chuckled with a raised brow. "Yes and no actually." The older halfa crossed his arms, and stepped up to being only a foot or so away from the younger halfa. He looked down at him from the near half foot advantage in height with a smirk. "You're actually going to be with me most of the time. We can't keep you anywhere else where your powers can be kept in check and you can be guarded at the same time. As the obvious choice to do both, you'll be with me. I still have things to take care of though so you'll just have to come with me. Make sure you get some sleep cause we're leaving early. Any questions?" He finished with a slightly superior expression that expressed his dominant role over the teen.

Will almost seemed to want to yell back, but lost his nerve only seconds later. He frowned and dropped his hands to his sides. "Where are we going?" He finally asked without making eye contact.

"Leeds Point, New Jersey." Will had nothing else he could say after that, and turned back towards the living room. Gar watched him walk back with a disappointed expression. "I was expecting more of a fight." Danny stated as he lowered his arms with a shrug.

Gar turned to him curiously. "What do you mean, it's not like you gave him a choice." His tone was just ever so angry.

Danny turned back to the hall. "Yeah, but it's not like I had one either. If I really wanted to, I could just suck him into a thermos, and put him on a shelf until the Reach is dealt with."

Gar dashed after him with a worried expression. "But you wouldn't actually do that right?"

"Of course not, that would be cruel beyond words. I spent six hours in one once, not fun." He related with a grimace. "At this point though, our options are pretty slim. I'd really rather just let him go home, but since he's being targeted that's way out of the question, not to mention the fact he can't control his powers."

Garfield then quickened his pace to cut the halfa off. "True, but maybe if he had some help?" He tried to infer.

Danny stopped and raised a brow. "Help with what? The impossible task of getting rid of them?"

"No, how to use them." Gar corrected as Phantom walked passed him.

"If he even wanted to learn." Danny responded as he reached his room. He then took a passing glance at the green teen with a sigh. "Look, I get what you're asking alright, but that's not up to me. He's the one who has to deal with what he is now, not me. Now if he wanted to learn? That's different." Gar scratched the side of his face as he nodded. Phantom was right of course. Even he had to come to terms with his green skin when his powers developed. "So… you wanna help me test something?" Danny asked the young changeling with a change of subject and tone."

Gar's expression brightened as he raised his hand. "Sure!" He dashed into the room behind Phantom who headed over to his work table. "I finished this earlier today, and since you're here it's a good time to test it out."

Gar stood by his bed attentively as Danny turned with metal disk in his hand the size of a button pin. "What is it?" He asked as Danny handed it to him.

"It's a modified version of a Specter Deflector, you know that weird belt on the self over there?"

Gar looked at it curiously. "Oh? So it does the same thing?"

"Yeah, almost, but I was working to make it more versatile, and easier to wear. See the gridded side? That's how it sticks to things. Put it on."

Gar took a look before placing on the front of his suit. He was a little surprised it stuck so easily before turning back to Phantom. "Alright, now what?"

"Now the fun part." Danny revealed with a somewhat worried tone. He reached a hand out to poke the younger teen only to meet with an electric shock on contact.

"That looked like it hurt." The young hero noted as Phantom shook his finger of the pain.

"Yeah, but its way worse for a normal ghost." He then noticed his spiking hair which now stood on end. "Nothing's perfect though." He lamented as he patted his hair back down.

Gar pulled the button off. "No, but this is pretty cool." He then noticed a large object covered in a tarp. "What's that one?" He asked with a pointed finger.

Danny turned as he reached for the little device. "Oh that? Just something I've been working on. Unlike these badges though, it'd protect more than just one person." He then turned back to Garfield. "And last longer than an hour, I'm only about half finished though."

"Hmm? Noted. I bet it'll be cool once you finish."

"Only if it works Gar." Danny quickly implied as he was given the device back.

* * *

Leed's Point, NJ – May 15

It was fairly dark as two teens made their way through a quiet construction site. Despite the crowd of large equipment, and unused lighting, it was deserted. A loud clang went off as one of them fell over a pipe sitting in a shadow. "I told you to be careful." Danny reprimanded as he reached a hand back to Will.

"I know, but it's so fricken dark!" He growled back in a hushed tone. "Let's not forget it's the middle of the night!" He added in as he brushed himself off. "Why are we here?"

Danny continued along until he spotted a large shed like building. "We're here looking for something, and it wouldn't be so dark for you if you'd transform." Danny then took a good look around before turning back to him. "I'm going to check in here. Stay out of sight, but stay close." He ordered as he phased into the building.

Will rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Why did I even have to come? I'd rather be asleep at three in the morning." He muttered in annoyance. When Phantom said they were leaving early, he never thought he meant this early. At least STAR let him sleep until the sun came up.

He then felt a strange sensation as a new scent came to his attention. He turned his head with the direction it seemed to flow from. "What is…" He mumbled as he stepped around the building to see the side. It was still very dark, but the tarp over the side was obviously a different color than the building. It was then that he noticed the scrap sitting on the ground under the tarp. It was mangled from what he could tell, and as the tarp fluttered, he saw some indentions in the building wall. "Did something happen to this place?" It did seem strange that no one would be guarding the site. It was even weirder that it was so deserted in the first place even if it was the middle of the night. They hadn't seen one person since coming through the fence.

The scent he'd followed seemed to shift, and as he turned towards the back fence his breath caught in his throat. There in the distance he noted two red dots of light, and they were like eyes watching him. He quickly went over in his head what they could be. They didn't have to be eyes, but maybe some equipment further into the forest, or if they were eyes they could belong to an owl…. Maybe… "Or not…" He said as he gulped and watched them bounce along the dark forest backdrop. They streaked up until a dark figure was cast in the moonlight over the forest. With unfathomable agility the creature dove down on him, and it was all Will could do to try and step back. He quickly lost his footing again and wound up on his butt. The figure was tall with bat like wings on either side, but the most notable feature was its glowing red eyes. "H-holy crap…." The teen stuttered out as the creature's long neck lowered towards him.

"Human?" It growled out with an unsure tone. It quickly narrowed its eyes and its bared fangs caught small slivers of moonlight.

"Back off!" A familiar voice cut it as Phantom dashed through the side of the building. The monstrous creature immediately turned with a snarl as it jumped away. Danny floated between it and Will, and they stared each other down for a moment before the creature flew back towards the forest. Danny watched a moment more before turning back to Will, and offering him a hand. "You okay?"

Will took the assistance and nodded. "U-uh yeah, I think."

"Good." Phantom said before his expression became angry. "Now what exactly was that?"

"What do you mean? How am I supposed to know, you brought me here." Will defended with a shaky tone.

Danny shook his head. "No, I mean you. You didn't even try to fight back did you?"

Will was bewildered by the accusation. "What do you mean fight back!? You expected me to fight that monster? Are you crazy?! That thing would have torn me to shreds!"

Danny raised a brow and shook his head. "Not if you'd changed. I kind of expected you to transform if you had to, not cower in fear."

Will looked at him a moment before his eyes widened. "You knew that thing was here didn't you? Is that what we were looking for!? That thing!" The teen yelled in outrage. "Did you know it would attack me!?"

Danny seemed pensive a moment before letting out a sigh. "Yes, that is why we're here, and no, I didn't expect it to attack you. I just didn't think that if it did show up and attack, I'd have to run to your rescue. Why didn't you transform? You did at STAR Labs."

Will's anger grew more calm. "That was… different. Virgil and the others, they were there, and we had to keep those things from hurting people."

"What about that thing that could have hurt you?" Danny inquired.

"I was… scared." Will admitted without making eye contact.

"You weren't scared of the Fright Knight? Or those monsters he made?"

"Of course I was." Will responded immediately as if it was obvious.

"Then what's the difference between then and now?" Phantom asked while having an idea of the answer already. "Why didn't you try and protect yourself?" Will remained silent. Phantom watched a moment more before speaking again. "I'm no psychologist, but I think I can tell what stopped you. Sure you were scared of it, but you were more scared of yourself right? Looking into the eyes of a monster reminded you of how you see yourself didn't it?" Will finally made eye contact, but his angry expression wasn't fooling anyone. Phantom knew he'd hit the nail on the head. Jazz must be rubbing off. Danny then wore an understanding expression. "Look, I know how you feel-"

"No you don't! How could you!?" Will interrupted in both fear and anger. "How could you possibly know how I feel? How it feels to see a monster in the mirror when you should see yourself? To jump at your own shadow?" He had tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "One day I was normal, and then suddenly I'm not!" He then narrowed his eyes and pointed at the hero. "No, you don't have fangs, horns or any of that! You look perfectly normal, and yet you think you know how I feel?"

It was Danny's turn to be angry, but he bit back the shout he was tempted to throw at the younger halfa. "No, I don't have horns, fangs, fur or a tail. I don't jump at my own shadow, or curse my reflection in a mirror. You're right about that."

"Of course I am."

"But you're wrong if you think I don't know how you feel." Danny cut in coldly. "If anything, I had it harder than you. You could see it. It's not the monsters that tower like beasts that people are most afraid of Will, it's the ones they can't see. It's the ones that could be right in front of you, and you wouldn't know until it was too late. If you can see the monster you know where to run, but if all you know is it's here, where do you run?"

Will's anger seemed to recede as confusion set in. "What do you mean?"

Danny looked up a bit at the stars. "I was raised to see all ghosts as monsters. They were supposed to be evil. They were supposed to be something to fear." He then lowered his head to make eye contact with Will again. "That was what I believed for most of my life until one day I suddenly wasn't normal any more. Suddenly I was half ghost. Suddenly I was an evil monster. It didn't matter what I looked like, I was suddenly everything I was taught was evil."

Will looked at him with a wary expression that showed his confusion. "But you're a hero… right?"

Danny nodded. "Yes, that's what I try to be. You need to understand Will, what you are, is something you choose. You're only a monster if you believe you are. I guess what I'm trying to say is, a monster isn't something you see on the outside, it's something that's inside." Will seemed confused as he looked down at his hands. He balled them into fists before activating his morph ring. The green halo engulfed him, and left his furry ghost form in its wake. He unclenched his fists to see the green clawed hands he now had. "So, are you a monster?"

Will shook his head and dropped his hands. "You know…. It's kind of funny…" He began with a crack in his voice. "My dad always said to never judge a book by its cover." He then wiped his face and turned back to Phantom. "Some of the best books are the ones people don't give a second look."

Danny now wore a smirk. "I think my sister said that once." He chuckled a bit. "But you understand now right? You can't be afraid of yourself. You can't let fear drive you into taking a short cut, or the easy way." He said with a more serious expression. "And you can't let fear stop you from doing the right thing. I told you and those other kids to run away before, but you didn't. You used your powers to help people. You chose to help."

Will's expression grew contemplative as he looked down. "I did…. I wanted to help."

"And so you did, because you chose to. You may not have chosen to become half ghost, heck who would? But you chose to do something with your powers. To use them for good. You know, I know this really old ghost. I'm not even sure I can define him as a friend, but he told me something once, and I didn't really get it until recently. "Time has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke." Things happen, good and bad. It's how you deal with it that matters."

"I think I agree with that ghost." Will admitted with a slight laugh.

"So," Danny began as he floated up a bit. "What are you going to do? I guess you can just stay here, and keep out of sight. You could also come with me after that supposed monster. You'll have to do it looking like this though." Danny proposed with a confident expression.

Will looked up to him a moment before turning to the dark pine forest. "Okay." He finally said. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing." He then turned to the damaged building. "If that's the thing that attacked this place, I want to help stop it from doing it again."

"Good." Danny responded as he floated over to the back fence. "Now let's get going."

Will ran after him and scaled the chain link fence somewhat clumsily with his claws before hopping down the other side. Danny was already ahead since he only flew over it. He ran to catch up to the older hero. "Phantom?" He called as the older halfa floated slowly through the forest.

"Yeah?"

"C-could you… Since I'm stuck with them and all, could you help me with these powers? I was talking to Gar yesterday, and he said I should ask you." The hesitance in his voice was clear but receding.

Danny continued to look around the trees warily as he nodded. "I suppose I could, yeah. Back at the cave though, we have to keep our guard up for now."

Will seemed embarrassed about how quickly he'd forgotten about the monster from before. "Do you know what it was?"

Danny turned to him with a raised brow. "You don't know about the legendary monster of New Jersey?"

Will remained quiet a moment before his jaw dropped. "That was…. That was the Jersey Devil!? Are you kidding me?"

Danny shook his head. "No. It's been a few decades since he was last spotted, but he's popped up again. He terrorized that construction site, forcing it to shut down. I'm here to find out why, and hopefully stop it." He then looked around again. "If I can find it."

Will looked around at the dark woods that gave no indication of direction. "Find him….?" He then sniffed the air, and found the familiar scent of the monster that attacked him. "I think he's this way." Will directed as he followed the scent. "I remember his smell."

"Impressive." Danny noted as he flew in the indicated direction. "I guess you should lead the way."

* * *

The halfas continued through the trees for several miles before Danny stopped them cold. He raised his hand to hold Will back just as they came up on a large cluster of fallen trees near a lake. "Hold it." He walked in front of the teen and looked over the tree cluster. "I can sense him now, just ahead. We need to be very careful." He then motioned to the left side. "You look there, and I'll take the right, but stay in sight." They then separated, and Danny retook the sky over the right side that hugged the lake.

Will peeked through some of the fallen logs, but only found darkness looking back at him. "This place smells a lot like it. Is this where it lives?"

"Probably." Danny answered from the other side. "Keep a good look out for him, and only attack if he attacks first."

"But wouldn't it be better to just attack him as soon as we could? He might not give us the same courtesy you know." Will countered as he continued to look. At this point every minor noise seemed to draw his attention, and his fear from earlier that night was coming back.

"Remember what I told you Will. A real monster is inside not outside." The young halfa looked over to him in confusion. He thought he was only talking about him, but was he talking about the Jersey Devil too?

"Not as human as I first thought." A familiar deep voice growled from behind. Will instantly turned around and shuffled back into log. His quills had extended from his surprise and quickly lodged into the wood on contact. The devil towered over him at around nine feet, and it seemed somehow, he could see almost every detail of the creature when he couldn't before. The beast had a muzzle like a horse or goat, long horns that curved back around its head, large bat wings that sat folded at its back, and a whip like tail that lashed around its hooved legs.

"Jersey Devil…." Will mumbled out as he tugged to be free from the wood.

The devil turned his head to the side as he watched. "That name, what an abomination it is." He then reached out one of his cloven hands to the teen. Will's first instinct was to become intangible, but it seemed he only made more of his quills poke into the wood. "Hold still." The devil commanded as he placed his hoof like hand on the teen's shoulder. Will felt a familiar tingle through his body as he was pulled forwards out of the wood.

"I take it this means you don't want to fight?" Phantom inquired as he floated down nearby.

The devil looked up to him with a scowl. "Not if I can help it Phantom, no. I know better than to get in a fight with someone with your power; half breed or otherwise. I do wish to know, however, what brings you to my territory. I certainly hope it's not to claim it." He declared with a narrow of his eyes.

Danny raised a brow and shook his head. "No I don't want your forest. I'm here about your attack on that construction site. I heard the Jersey Devil tore through it in broad daylight."

The beast scowled at the nickname and waved a dismissing hand. "If you intend to hold a civil conversation with me Phantom, I'd prefer to be addressed by my actual name and not that abhorrent title humans threw at me."

Danny crossed his arms and wore an amicable expression. "Alright then Mr. uh…"

"My name is Bellefried, and you may call me Fried if you so wish." The devil finished with a pleased tone.

"Okay then Fried, I'm here about you attacking that construction site."

Fried turned towards the latent light of the far off population. "That should come as no surprise. The humans have known for decades how much I hate having my territory violated. Every so often I have to make my presence known so they'll back off. It seems I have to make more of a spectacle of myself every time for these stubborn creatures."

"They were in your territory? But that's a government funded construction project isn't it?" Will tried to understand.

Fried turned to him with an annoyed expression. "I truly hope you realize just how silly you sounded just now half breed."

Danny shook his head and turned to Will. "You have to know that the legend of the Jersey Devil is older than this country right? That means Fried was here before the government."

"That's right, and I claimed this place centuries ago!" He declared in anger. "There were indeed humans around at that time, but this is not where they were. I claimed a territory devoid of those creatures. I consider it a lucky chance that the humans made no settlements here before me, and they kept their distance when I came. They were smart enough to understand that I wouldn't harm them if they stayed away. Those who came into my territory did so temporarily or faced my anger. Back then, humans were quite agreeable. It's when the new ones came that my headache began. I didn't think much of them at first, but soon enough they tried to live in my territory. I had to put my hoof down or I'd lose this place." He then turned to Danny with a sneer. "I'm sure you understand my fear don't you Phantom? I'd heard the humans barred you from your territory not too long ago."

Danny glared at him in response. "You could say that, but I don't treat Amity Park like my territory. It's my hometown, I don't own it."

Fried shook his head. "You see this is why ghosts kept coming at you. Unless you claim your territory and enforce that claim, they'll try to take it themselves. There aren't that many places like this forest or your town on this continent you know. They're very enticing."

"What are you two talking about?" Will interrupted as he scratched his head. "What's this about territory?"

Fried lowered his head with a superior grin. "Ah, so ignorant. I suppose I should not be surprised since you seem so green. Haven't been a half breed long, have you?" He chuckled at his own question, and didn't let him answer. "A ghost who lives in the human realm has to maintain a good territory. The size depends on the ghost. It is much like how you humans build houses, and little communities. A territory like mine is especially desired since the border between the worlds is thinner here." He then stood back up to his full height and turned to Phantom. "So I will tell you now, should those humans violate my territory again, I will attack again." He finished with a growl.

Danny raised his hands defensively. "Oh, hold on. I understand what you're doing as long as you don't actually hurt anyone. I'm more curious about what they were doing here then stopping you. Most of your current territory is a national forest. There shouldn't be any construction in it. The site is technically not in your territory either." Danny pointed out curiously.

The devil nodded. "True, but that is where they returned. If I have to venture out to chase them away so be it."

"Then what were they doing in here? They were obviously not doing much on the site grounds." Phantom noted.

Fried turned towards a deeper part of the forest. "I haven't the slightest. They seemed very adamant to unearth the monolith, however, so I suppose it has something to do with that." He flew up and waved for Danny and Will to follow. The three arrived after only a few minutes with Will bringing up the rear in a pant. He joined them as they stood around a large ring of red flowers. "Now you know why I couldn't tell you what they were up to." Fried stated as he gestured to the ring. At its center was a large mound that had been dug through.

"That the monolith you mentioned?" Danny asked as he pointed to the shattered pitch black slab nested in the dirt.

"Correct. These flowers were not here before the humans arrived, but of course, it doesn't bother them."

"You think they planted them to keep you out of their way?" Phantom inquired as he looked the vexing flowers over.

"No, these were most likely made by some old human spell. Humans didn't live in this area because they buried their dead here. These were put in place probably to prevent spirits from coming out. I never minded the humans burial rituals as long as they left, so I never had to deal with them before."

"Aren't we going to go check it out?" Will asked as he passed them to step into the flowers.

"Wait Will-" Danny tried to warn before a wall of pain hit the young halfa. Danny pulled him away quickly. "Those are Blood Blossoms Will, they are used to ward off ghosts like us." He then turned to the mound. "If it weren't for these things we would have investigated closer already."

Will brushed the sting from his arms as he turned to the flowers. "Flowers that hurt ghosts…. That's so lame." He then paused with an idea. "Okay, but not humans right?"

"No, that's why those idiot humans wouldn't leave until I chased them out." Fried confirmed with an annoyed expression.

Will didn't hesitate to change back with a green flash. He hopped right into the flower bed without any resistance. "No problem."

"Will, get back here! You don't know what you're doing!" Danny tried to reason with a furrowed brow.

Will simply waved back. "I got this Phantom." He hurried over to the monolith to get a good look.

"You're not listening Will! Get back over here before it's too late!"

Will groaned in annoyance as he took he a quick look at the rock pieces and headed back over to the others. "I was just taking a look. The flowers don't even hurt." Danny rolled his eyes as Will stepped out of the flowers, and retook his ghostly form.

"See anything interesting half breed?" Fried wondered with a smirk on his mussel.

Will shrugged. "Didn't look like anything was under the rock. It did have some carvings on it though. A bunch of arrows pointing at an X I think. It was broken so there could have been more."

Fried chuckled. "Oh, that sounds interesting. Arrows are commonly used as protective symbols by those old humans. I do not know about the X, however. The stone in its solid form could have been meant for some protective ritual, but if there were no corpses underneath I couldn't fathom what it was intended for."

Danny crossed his arms. "Then it could have been taken already."

The devil shrugged as he reached to a nearby tree. He tore of a piece of bark, and began scraping at the inside. "Well as long as they stay out of my territory, I don't care. If you need to talk with me again, here's my mailing address. I will be down in Florida for the next week, however, so don't expect to see me here after tomorrow until I get back." He handed him the bark with the address carved out before floating back up. "I was hoping to wrap this problem up in time for martinis on the beach so I rather appreciate it Phantom." He then waved, and flew back towards his home with a hum.

Will raised a curious brow at the torn wood. "Since when does a ghost get mail?"

"You'd be surprised.." Danny grumbled thinking back to his own experience. He then let out a sigh. "I guess we should get back as soon as we can. I hope they keep calamine lotion in the infirmary."

* * *

Taos – May 15

"So how are they doing? I assume the accommodations are acceptable?" Sam sat out on the balcony of a rather upscale apartment with a laptop in her lap. "It's good so far Mr. Luthor. I'm sure after having today for themselves after so much time in that lab was the best way to get them to see our point of view." Sam responded with a confident tone.

Lex gave a nod before rubbing his chin. "It's too bad you couldn't get Will to come along as well. They worked well together."

"It was unfortunate, but forcing him to come would have cost us more than it would have brought us. When Blue Beetle tried, he actually helped me win them over more." She revealed with a smirk only slightly hidden by her hood. "I can set up a video call for you to address them around noon tomorrow if you're ready. After they know who their sponsor is, I can work on getting them more in control of their powers."

The business man nodded with a slightly impressed expression. "You are very proficient Mrs. Manson. I must say I'm impressed, especially of your control." He leaned on his hand. "I saw some of the lab videos of your powers, and so I believe I can confidently say that was no small feat."

Sam gave an empty chuckle. "It was simpler than you think."

"I'll take your word for it." He then leaned on both of his hands. "Now, not to add more work to your plate, but I've been wanting to check in on a mutual acquaintance of ours. He's been working on something, but isn't really good at sharing."

Sam raised a brow. "Him? I had a feeling he was wrapped up in something." She revealed with a somewhat false tone. She was already well aware Vlad was up to something which is why she'd warned Danny before. "I'd be more than happy to assist." She declared before turning back to the darkened apartment. "I'm sure they can look out for themselves for a while."

Luthor sat back in his chair and lifted a document that was just placed on the desk next to him. "Once I get a location I'll send you a ride." The video call cut out and Sam closed the computer right after.

"Finally." She muttered with a victorious tone. She quickly took a breath to calm herself when she tipped a chair almost enough to make it fall. "Remain calm." She took another deep breath. "I can't get ahead of myself just yet anyway." She'd been waiting for her chance to get deeper into this plot, and now was her best chance.

* * *

**So how many of you saw this coming? I mean yeah, it was obvious what I was going to do with Will, but what about the thing with Sam? She's working for Lex Luthor, but to what end? Any guesses? I hope to go more into that next chapter. It's hard to say how much I'll reveal just yet, but you'll get more information.**

**Now in the show there's a rather large gap of time between the incident at STAR labs and the Warworld appearing. I'm going to use that time for a few things before getting back into the time line given in the show... or what's left of it with all my changes added in.**

**Last note is about Will. I fully understand how many people deplore hearing about some OCs especially when they didn't make them. I have to say the Will of now wasn't the Will I initially planned for back in the earlier chapters. If you've read his parts with Danny you may have noticed I'm using him to flesh out Danny, his powers, and the concept of halfas more solidly in this universe. The above talk of monsters is an example of that. I'm sorry for those of you who find them annoying, but OCs also make plots go forwards without compromising an existing character. I will stand by my statement that Will is going to function as a secondary character working in tandem with others. He's just useful to help me explain my take on halfas for this story.=^-^=**

**Thx again to all who read, and I appreciate your comments below.=^-^=**


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